Living With Change
by Velace
Summary: Everything is changing for Emma Swan and everyone expects her to just deal with it. "I'm sorry, which of us is the Saviour here? In fact, out of those in this room, hell this entire town, who is it that passes for the law here?" and deal with it, she does.
1. Long Live the Queen

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the characters or anything else. This is purely for entertainment purposes, yada yada yada.

* * *

"She's evil!"

"She needs to be punished!"

"Teach her a lesson!"

_I won't let them hurt her, even if she is the Evil Queen. _She snorts at the title, finding it perhaps more amusing due to the frustration of coming to terms with being the Saviour of Fairy Tale Land.

"ENOUGH!"

As the crowd quiets, a dull throb against her skull announces the beginning of yet another headache to endure, she's found them to be quite prominent since coming to the quaint little town of Storybrooke.

Rubbing her temple as she tries to calmly address the town. "I don't know how you people did this in your land, but you can't just drag someone out of their house and.. what exactly were you planning to do? Tie her to her precious apple tree and set fire to it?"

"Not a bad idea!"

"Yeah!"

"Let's do that!"

"Oh for the love of.. STOP! This is the world you live in now, you can't just kill people. Whether or not they deserve it is beside the point. Evil or not, murder is still murder and that is what you'd be doing." She can feel Regina staring at her, she isn't going to acknowledge it but she can feel it.

Leroy is the first to speak up, "She deserves nothing short of an execution. We demand justice!" Sneering as he takes a step forward, "An eye for an eye, isn't that the saying, sister?"

The hollow laugh does nothing to ease the throbbing in her head, as it's followed by the all too familiar smirk gracing the former Mayors lips. "You speak of justice and then ignorantly quote vengeance, such an amusing little man."

Muttering something about not helping, she glares at Regina to be quiet. "I don't give a shit about what you people want. Hell if I felt like it, I could let Regina go now because magic doesn't fucking exist here, so cursing people isn't a fucking crime. But since you're all so adamant, I'm taking Madame Mayor to the station where she will stay until "I" decide what to do with her."

Turning, she grabs the wrist of the stunned mayor and none too gently drags her down the footpath to the street.

Mere moments later as they walk towards the station, Emma realises she's still holding Regina's wrist, releasing her and mumbling a faint, "Sorry."

The little apology seems to snap Regina out of her shock as she stops and turns toward Emma, confusion clear in her eyes. "Miss Swan.."

Emma slowed to a stop, her eyes downcast. "I have a feeling we're going to need your help in the near future, so the last thing I should be doing is treating you like some common thug."

Regina regards Emma with suspicion, opening her mouth in an attempt to respond, only to close it again when Emma raises a hand to stop her. "I still need you to come to the station. They want your head and I imagine you're not all that inclined to give it to them." And with that said, she continues down the street- confident that the illustrious Mayor will follow.

* * *

Snow and James arrive at the station after them, just as Emma locks the door to Regina's cell. Narrowing her eyes, the brunette notices them before the Sheriff. "What a delightful surprise. The King and Queen gracing us with their idiotic presence."

Emma turns to face them, "Snow, Dav.. uh James. Something I can do for you?"

Snow wraps her arms around her middle, looking all the more like the vulnerable school teacher, not a Queen. _I guess twenty eight years of being the meek Mary Margaret will have it's side effects. _"Granny tells us you defended Regina and then took off towards the station with her."

"Oh it's true. You should have seen her, Snow. Shouting and swearing up a storm, truly the **Saviour** you all hoped for."

_Well that was unnecessary. _Grimacing, the blonde responds sarcastically, "Thanks, **Madame Mayor**."

"My pleasure, dear."

Snow eyes them both suspiciously before frowning, "Why did you save her? She's the Evil Queen."

Emma shrugs, "I'm the Saviour, it's what I do."

Snow seems to transform before their eyes as she drops her hands to her side and raises her chin, glaring towards the cell containing the Evil Queen. "**She **had her chance at redemption, countless times. She isn't worth saving, not any more."

Her eyebrows raise in mild surprise, expecting Regina to say something, raising even higher when she realises the brunette is remaining silent. "I'm sorry, which of us is the Saviour here? In fact, out of those in this room, hell this **entire town**, who is it that passes for the law here?"

"Emma!"

Emma claps slowly, her patent shit-eating grin plastered across her lips. "Got it in one, **mother**. I'm the Sheriff and in this land, you and James are nothing more than a school teacher and a veterinary assistant. She will stay in that cell, away from those savages. You both can run along and find a way back to Fairy Tale Land, where you can play at being royalty while executing people to your heart's content."

She's not entirely sure when her mother started crying, but it didn't escape her notice as James leads them from the station. She could feel a little of the tense frustration fall away and replace itself with a slight tinge of guilt for taking out her anger on her parents. _They'll get over it.. maybe. _"Ugh."

"I must admit I'm impressed, Miss Swan. Are you feeling alright?"

Emma's lips curl slightly, "Careful Madame Mayor, someone might overhear and mistake your curiosity for concern."

The ill suppressed chuckle doesn't escape her notice either.

* * *

Emma tried to ignore her hunger, she didn't want to leave Regina alone but try as she might, it persisted until she'd had enough. Standing and grabbing her jacket, she's almost out the door before a voice stops her. "Where are you going?"

Turning slowly, she faces the Mayor and catches a glimpse of worry in brown eyes before that annoying mask of indifference slides back into place.

Emma rolls her eyes as she turns again, saying "I'm hungry." before exiting the station.

She considers going to Granny's, but then she needs to feed Regina too- so instead she enters her patrol car and drives towards the Mansion.

_She'll probably have a fit that I entered her house without permission. "Miss Swan! Blahblahblah." _She laughs inwardly, flipping the welcome mat, finding the key and entering the mansion.

_God I hope that woman cooked last night._ Setting her keys on the counter, she pulls open the fridge and almost squeals in delight when she comes across a half container of leftover lasagna. "I could kiss that woman... then probably die when she strangles me with my own hair."

Rummaging through the cupboards, she finds an extra container and separates the lasagna into two meals before tossing them in the microwave. "Now, maybe some fruit and something to drink."

10 minutes later, armed with lasagna, fruit and a nice bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, the Sheriff arrives back at the station just in time to see Leroy marching through the door.

* * *

She can hear him yelling as she walks down the hall, completely ignoring the scene as she walks through the room and into her office.

Placing the food and wine down on her desk, she reaches around and slips her gun holster from inside the drawer, snapping the holster to her belt before taking the gun from within.

She leans against the door frame and waits for Leroy to finish his current tirade before clearing her throat.

If she hadn't planned on threatening him, she probably would've laughed at the ridiculous way he spun toward her, face as red as a ripe tomato. Instead, her face was a mask of complete calm, gun dangled limply against her thigh. "If you're quite done, I'm hungry and you weren't invited to dinner."

He strides toward her, nostrils flared, balled fists at his sides. "Why hasn't a meeting been called to decide her fate?"

She raises an eyebrow, a silent challenge to question her next words, "Because that decision is mine."

_Surprise, disappointment and there it is, more anger. _

"You better decide quickly, sister. I'm not the only one who wants her dead."

She shrugs, "I'll decide when I'm ready. Now leave, before I throw **you **in the cell."

Pushing away from the door, she strides back into her office and holsters her gun before picking up the wine and bag containing dinner.

She's a little surprised when coming back into the room to find that Grumpy actually left.

"You are full of surprises today, Miss Swan. First you defend me against an angry mob, then your parents and now Grumpy."

Emma snorts in amusement, "Grumpy is a little too tame a name, I think. More like Berserk."

She completely misses the smile adorning the mayors lips as she places the containers of food on the desk. After pulling her army knife from inside her boot and opening the bottle of wine, she faces Regina "Before you say anything, I went to your house."

"Why?"

Emma shook her head in disbelief, "What? No indignant exclamation about breaking and entering?"

"I doubt there would be any point. I'll assume you didn't actually break anything. Though knowing you.."

Emma gives a small laugh, then smiles, "No Madame Mayor, I didn't break anything. However to answer your question, I figured as I was getting myself something to eat, I should probably consider feeding you as well."

"That hardly explains why you were in my house."

Emma inclines her head, "Perhaps not trusting the fine citizens of Storybrooke not to poison any food they suspect to be for you, would."

"Poison?" Regina scoffs, "They wouldn't dare."

Scooping up her keys, she moves over to the cell door and unlocks it before swinging it open, then walking back to the desk and pouring them each a glass of wine.

Regina tilts her head, curiosity in her gaze. "Miss Swan, I hope you don't consider this acceptable treatment for prisoners."

"You're not a prisoner, Regina. Stop being difficult and come and eat."

She thought it might be a little awkward, but the silence between them was remarkably comfortable. If you happened to walk in at this moment and didn't know any better, you'd think they were simply two friends having dinner together.

Of course, after dinner the silence could only last so long. Having locked them both in the cell, Regina's curiosity got the better of her. "Miss Swan.."

A minor huff of irritation stops her short as Emma focuses on her, "If we're going to talk, the least you can do is use my name."

A small strangled noise escapes the brunettes throat, "Very well... Emma."

Amused, Emma shakes her head and signals for Regina to continue with a wave of her hand as she refills their glasses and sits on the cot beside the brunette.

"Why are you protecting me?"

_Because everyone wants to kill you.. because Henry asked me to.. because despising you as a person, doesn't mean I want you to die. Among other reasons I'd rather not consider. _"I could give you a single reason, but it would be one of many."

Regina raises an eyebrow, "Start with the important one."

"Henry asked me to."

Doubt colours Regina's expression, "I find that difficult to believe."

Emma nods, "I wouldn't put much priority on the life of someone who poisoned me either..." She notices the hurt and anger cross the mayors face, and quickly adds, "But that doesn't change the fact he still asked."

Regina sighs and takes a sip of her wine, a frown creasing her forehead as even more questions fill her mind.

The blonde seems to hear the loudest before Regina can even vocalise it herself. "I **should** hate you, I should let them come and kill you. Henry's 10, he'd get over it eventually."

"So why don't you?"

Exhaling loudly, "Let them kill you?" with a small nod from Regina, she continues. "I feel different, almost like I'm my own opposite. Your life is being threatened and it makes me angry, I should be joining them not saving you from them. Just a moment ago, you looked hurt and instead of enjoying it, I tried to ease it. I don't know how to explain it, I just feel like I have to protect you."

They talked throughout the night, discovering new things about each other as they silently worried about what the morning would bring. The only break in conversation came when Ruby called to tell them she'd dropped Henry off with James and Snow.

Countless hours and a bottle of wine later, side by side they succumbed to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: Hey all. This is my first fic and I'm not entirely sure where it's going lol Pretty much whatever is in my head is being written down, seems like a slow start but I'm sure it'll pick up. What I currently have is longer than this, but I'd like to get a few opinions on this part first. So message/review if you like, criticisms and suggestions will be highly welcomed.**

**Viva La Swan Queen! :)**


	2. Making Amends

Emma groans as she feels the annoying vibration of her phone against her thigh, followed by a shift in the thin mattress as Regina rolls away from her side, muttering something about an irritating sheriff and her vibrating pants.

With an amused shake of her head, she snatches the phone from inside her jeans and snaps it open, _"What?"_

She rolls her eyes upon recognising the voice of her father on the other end, _"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."_

"_It's a jail cell, there is no right side to these stupid beds. Someone should arrest me for allowing this kind of torture on prisoners."_

After an awkward silence of what seemed like forever, _"Bloody hell, __**Dad**__. I wasn't going to sleep in a chair. Was there a reason you called?"_

"_Uh y-yeah! I was wondering if we could.. umm.. talk, you know without your mother.. crying.. again."_

"_Ugh hold on." _Dragging herself off of the bed, she leans over to nudge Regina closer to the wall and grabs the cell door key from beneath her. Unlocking, then re-locking the door, she proceeds across the room to her office.

"_Alright, before we talk- I have one condition."_

James sighs, _"And that is?"_

"_We are NOT discussing punishment for Regina."_

She can hear James talking to Snow, in a hushed voice. Allowing them some time to talk, she walks over to her office door and leans against its frame. She watches as Regina rubs her eyes and sits upright, her sleep hazed browns meeting impatient green. "Who are you talking to?"

Emma mimics the motion of tying a noose around her neck before strangling herself with the rope, causing Regina to laugh. "One of your parents."

Emma smiles and nods as James returns, _"Emma?"_

She rolls her eyes, _"Still here."_

"_Right. Uh your mother was wondering if we could meet at Granny's for breakfast? 20 minutes?" _Causing yet another eye roll.

Regina speaks up with a smirk, "Careful Miss Swan, you might strain your eyes if you keep doing that."

Emma pokes her tongue at the brunette, _"Sure, Granny's in 20 minutes." _Ending the call, she shoves the phone back into her jeans. "Hey, you want some breakfast?"

The mayors eyebrow shot up in curiosity, "Breakfast with the Charming's? No, thank you."

Emma laughs softly, "No, I was going to have Ruby come over here while I'm at Granny's. Might as well have her bring you something to eat."

"Oh well, in that case. I could use some coffee."

Nodding, Emma picks up her jacket and makes her way out the door.

* * *

The bell above the door chimes as Emma enters the diner, her eyes landing on a booth by the window where her family were quietly talking. She smiles as Henry notices her and beams brightly, "Mum!" Holding up her hand, she spots Ruby behind the counter and makes her way over to her deputy. "Hey Rubes."

"Hey boss! What can I get you?"

Scratching at the back of her neck nervously, "I was hoping you could switch to Deputy mode for an hour or so."

Ruby grins as she puts a hand to the side of her mouth and whispers, "Need me to guard the Mayor?"

"Something like that.. Would you mind taking her some coffee and whatever she would order for breakfast? Her starving to death wouldn't exactly help in the whole helping her to not die thing."

Chuckling, Ruby waves her off. "Sure thing, usual for you? Your family already ordered- I'll bring it over before I leave."

Smiling, Emma replies, "Please and thank you." Before making her way over to the booth. Sliding in beside Henry, she ruffles his hair before she leans in and places a kiss on his cheek, "Hey kid... Mum, Dad."

They talk about mundane things while they wait for Ruby to bring their breakfast. She notices Snow worriedly glancing at her from time to time as she listens to her son regale the family with the Amazing Life of Henry Mills. Halfway through breakfast, she tires of her mothers concern and decides to broach a somewhat important topic. "I didn't mean what I said just before you left the station yesterday."

James smiles at her in appreciation, "We know."

Snow shakes her head, "No we don't."

Emma sat there silently, waiting for Snow to continue.

"I could see you were angry and I guess I can understand why, but.." she trails off. Oh dear lord, no more crying.

Emma sighs, "Henry, I need a moment with your grandparents."

Nodding, he grabs his backpack and scrambles over the top of Emma to an empty seat a few tables away.

"After twenty-eight years, I finally meet my parents.. who look barely a day older than I do. My son almost dies. I find out that fairy tales are real and to top it all off, I end up having to save my sons mother from a town full of bloodthirsty psychopaths. Forgive me if I seem a little overwhelmed right now, but the last thing I need is my own parents questioning me about saving someone's life."

She raises her hand when Snow opens her mouth to speak, easy to assume a protest by the look of righteousness on her mothers face, "I don't care who she is, what she did or what she is capable of doing. A life is a life and my job is to protect it, whether anyone agrees with it. I have a lifetime's worth of awful reasons to hate her, but I don't."

James frowns, "Why don't you?"

She knows she can't really explain it to them, not like she did with Regina. So she gives her father a smile and answers with her only alternative, "Henry."

He nodded, but it was Snow that spoke. "I don't understand."

Emma thought for a moment, piecing together how to explain her feelings to someone else. "Twenty eight years ago, my parents put me in a wardrobe. seventeen years later I.." making little air quotes with her hands, ""fell in love" with a guy who got me pregnant. Nine months after, I gave birth to a boy who grew up to be a polite, well-groomed little genius. Your happily ever after may have been on hold all this time, but without the so-called curse, Henry wouldn't exist. I can't hate her, in fact I'm indebted to her- not only for giving me the opportunity to have my son, but for looking after, caring for and loving him for the ten years that I couldn't."

She knows she has to leave, there's no way their conversation will remain civil. While James seems to understand, Snow appears to be having a harder time processing it.

Standing, she catches her sons gaze and beckons him over. "As I said, I'm sorry for what I said to you. You're my parents and I can forgive you for essentially abandoning me, because of her." Running her fingers through her son's hair, she smiles down at him. "And him."

Looking between her parents, "I'm taking him to see his mother, who I will be returning to her house. If you want to call a meeting to.. discuss finding a way home or whatever, let me know if my presence is needed." and with that, she leaves the diner with her son and returns to the station.

* * *

They rehearsed in the car on the way back to the station, it was Henry's idea. He wanted to show Regina he believed her when she told him she loved him before she'd fled from the hospital. The kid likes to complicate things, he couldn't simply tell her that, no- where would the fun be? So they decided on being ridiculous, because that's fun.

Darting into the station like a hopped up squirrel, he came to an abrupt halt in front of the lone cell where his mother was. Turning away from Regina just as Emma rounded the corner, his expression of total shock was without a doubt picture perfect, that is until it dropped into a smug grin. Taking a deep breath, he immediately hit her with a slew of questions. "Why is mum in a cell? Did you arrest her? Why would you do that? Is it the hospital thing, because that's dumb. Let her out!"

_Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the great Henry Mills- Legendary Child Actor of the twenty-first Century._ Gaping at her son, she shakes her head and glances at Regina._ Ah crap kid, that was too good, she's gonna start crying._ "Uh, you do know she's the Evil Queen.. right?"

"No she's not, she's my mum."

Hearing the quiet gasp, Henry smiles at Emma and she returns it. "Right.. I guess you should let her out then." She tosses the key to him and before Regina can grasp what's going on, her son is inside the cell and in her arms.

Ruby strolls across to the Sheriff with her wolfish grin in place. "Was that real?"

Emma smiles, "The sentiment was, the act was his idea. That kid is a damn genius, look at her." and they did, both noting the warm smile directed at the little boy, as well as the happy droplets falling freely down the Evil Queens cheeks.

* * *

They walked the streets together, each holding a hand of their son as he told them about his night with his grandparents. Emma wasn't really listening, if he noticed he didn't seem to mind.

"Ma, that tickles."

Emma looks down at her son, ready to ask what he's talking about, only to realise they've stopped walking, Regina and Henry both staring at her hand with wide eyes.

"What the h...eck." A faint white glow emanates from between her fingers. _Huh, my hand is kinda warm.. and tingly.._ "the fuck is going on?" Her other hand flies to her mouth, eyes snapping to Regina then Henry. "Uh I didn't mean to say that out loud. You ever start swearing kid and I'll hold you down while your mother washes your mouth out. But seriously.. what's with the hand?"

Blinking slowly, the mayors expression resembles one of wonderment, "It would appear you have magic, Miss Swan."

"Oh that's great. What's next? A pale complexion, maybe a little glitter. I can end up as a Saviour, Princess and a reject from the Twilight cast. Yaaay!" shaking her head and muttering to herself, she starts off towards the Mansion again.

Taking a still stunned Henry by the hand, Regina rushes after the blonde, slowing upon reaching her side. "While your tantrum is quite amusing, I can't help but wonder how it is you have magic when no one else does."

Emma groans in frustration, "Let me guess, you'd like to dissect me and study me in a lab. Don't tell me there's no lab in that house of yours.. Or maybe it's a torture room with a scalpel nearby. I mean you could probably do that with magic, but you don't have that at the moment- all Queens have a back up, right?"

"I see magic has done nothing to improve your wit."

Emma merely shrugs off the poorly attempted insult. "Just for that, I'm going to scream when you do it."

* * *

Upon arriving at the house, Regina addresses their son, "Go play in your room while Emma and I make lunch." directing her next words to the Sheriff as she watches Henry bound up the stairs. "We need to talk."

With a concealed smirk Emma asks, "Are we breaking up?"

Regina nearly gives herself whiplash with how quickly her head turned, the expression of shock quickly morphing into annoyance as Emma cracks up laughing.

"Your face... I.. c-can't breathe."

"Good." Regina responded, making her way towards the kitchen.

"Not nice, Regina!" She composes herself and follows the mayor through to the kitchen. Leaning against the island in the middle of the room, "So, what is it we need to talk about?"

Regina hesitates a moment before replying, "Your magic. I was surprised at first, but it's starting to make sense."

"I seem to be a little slow on the uptake, mind explaining how?"

Emma's ready to roll her eyes as she glimpses the smirk dancing along the mayor's lips, only to frown in confusion when it disappears without insult. "Yesterday, you said you felt different. Changes in feelings, seemingly at random. Yes?"

"Yeah.."

"I'm merely speculating, but I think that has to do with your magic trying to manifest itself." She glances at Emma to make sure she's following, continuing when the blonde inclines her head. "You're the product of True Love, the strongest magic in existence. I should have realised it earlier, you are essentially pure magic yourself."

A thoughtful silence engulfs them while Regina seemingly glides around the room and prepares their lunch.

_Curses.. Magic.. true love.. Is a little normalcy in my life truly too much to ask for? Jesus, if anyone finds out.. Knowing my luck, they'd expect me to conjure up a portal for everyone to go home..._ She suppresses a small squeak of surprise when the clearing of a throat penetrates her thoughts. "When did you first start feeling like you had to protect people?"

"Around the time Henry was.."_** poisoned** by his **mother** _"uh, in the hospital."

Regina glimpses the anger in the blondes eyes and promptly decides to ignore it. "I assume around the time of our.. **altercation**. You were protecting Henry?"

She shrugs, "I guess."

Emma peers at her as the brunette cocks her head to one side. "The best explanation I can think of, is that you adapt to whomever it is you're interacting with. Your magic moulds you into the "Saviour" of that particular person." Placing her hands upon the island, she leans forward and teasingly adds, "It certainly explains why I haven't wanted to throttle you lately."

The blondes eyes widen briefly in surprise, the faint scent of apples and cinnamon invading her senses as a grin settles into place. "Huh."

"There's more to discuss, but first we should have lunch. Be a dear and tell our son that there is food waiting for him."

* * *

**A/N: I'm a little hesitant about this, does it seem like there's too much talking? I know it's only the second chapter but.. I don't know, my brain doesn't seem to be in the mood for long, descriptive action scenes at the moment.**


	3. Discovery

They argued with each other well in to that evening and to anyone who wasn't them, it would look as though Regina were trying to convince Emma not to leave at the end of the day. To them, it was more for the sake of grasping at any type of normalcy while their lives spiralled out of control around them.

Now it was morning again as Emma lay sprawled out and half-naked in the Mayor's guest bedroom, sunlight streaming through the windows to warm her skin and remind her that she is in fact awake and not dead.

So it is with a mournful sigh that she leaves the comfort of the outrageously soft bed to get dressed, make her way down the stairs and into the kitchen. Which upon entering, she's greeted with the sight of one stunning brunette in naught but a silk black robe and the deliciously intoxicating aroma of coffee.

"My brain has tried to tell me I'm alive, since waking up in that ridiculously comfortable bed." She takes a seat at the island as the former mayor hands her a mug. "However, with coffee smelling this good... and your current state of undress- I'm still not convinced."

Regina's mouth twitches with the effort of holding back a smirk, "Shall I take that to mean I'm included in your idea of Heaven, Miss Swan?"

A small laugh escapes Emma's lips, "For all you know, I was describing my Hell."

"You keep telling yourself that, Sheriff."

Taking a sip from her mug, Emma decides to change the topic, "You said we had more to talk about with the whole magic thing?"

"This may sound a little... strange, but I need to know what you were thinking and.. feeling, yesterday."

"You mean when my magic mojo kicked in?" Taking Regina's nod as confirmation. "I was.. happy."

"And what were you thinking about?"

_You.. and Henry.. but mostly you. _"I'd really rather not answer that."

Regina looked out of the corner of her eye at Emma, "Interesting.. Well, what are you feeling now?"

Emma shifts in her seat, "Extreme discomfort, thanks for asking."

"Try thinking about the same thing as yesterday."

"I already am."

"And yet it's causing you discomfort now?"

_You weren't in a skimpy damn robe yesterday._ She ground her teeth together and narrowed her eyes. "I think.. that this is a conversation for some other time."

* * *

She needed to escape, to run, put distance between herself and this insane new world she's found herself in. She's unsure how she lasted this long without freaking out and running away. It's always been her go-to response, that flight instinct kicking in, just in time to distract her from the all too tempting path less travelled. Everyone knows that path, the one where every action taken is one you'd never consciously take. The decision you'd never decide, the difference between fight and flight. She always chose flight, it was the easiest, the least complicated, the one with the least amount of pain.

But she can't run this time and she feels trapped. She has a son, parents, friends and magic now, apparently.

Her phone vibrates with an incoming text from Snow. _"Mtg TH 1pm, plz cme."_

Adrenaline rushes throughout her veins, the constant thud of her heart beating against her chest. "This is stupid. Get it together, Emma." She raises her head to take in her surroundings. _Of all the places to end up, I run to the cemetery._

With her magic manifesting, there's no telling what it could conjure if she got angry again. Anger was almost guaranteed when surrounded by the single-minded idiots in this town, combine that with the feeling of being trapped in the Town Hall with them. She hits the reply button on her phone, _"Can't make it, sorry."_

It's been less than a minute she's sure, when the vibration of her phone alerts her to another text. The likelihood of it being her mother asking her for an explanation, is enough incentive for her to ignore it as she runs deeper into the cemetery. What better place to practice magic, than somewhere she's surrounded by people she can't accidentally kill.

_If I understood this right, my feelings control my magic._

_The only thing I feel right now is lost._

Thinking back to the night that everything changed.

_Coming home after a night of dealing with sleazy bail jumpers and pouring herself a glass of whiskey. Sipping as she stared at the store-bought cupcake sitting on her counter. "Another year alone."_

_Blowing out the tiny flame and snatching up the cupcake, she picked out the candle and threw it into the bin._

_Making her way across the small apartment to her couch, about to sit down when someone knocks on her door._

_She opened her door to find a cherub-faced, brown-haired little boy grinning up at her. "Hi."_

The air shifts suddenly and she finds herself standing in her old apartment in Boston. A wave of dizziness causes her to sway on her feet as an overwhelming urge to vomit sinks in to her stomach. "Woah.."

Once the feeling passes and she concludes that an enclosed space isn't the most safest place to practice magic, she decides to take advantage of this odd predicament by taking a walk down to her favourite bakery because dammit she's hungry and she is not going to waste this opportunity by freaking out.

Boston is louder than she remembers, she's also fairly certain there are far too many people crowding the streets. The air is different, dirtier than Storybrooke. She groans as the thoughts continue unbidden, the realisation dawning on her that she no longer considers Boston her home.

* * *

Once back inside her apartment, she takes a seat on the sofa and removes the mouth-watering bear claw from it's pretty pink package and takes an unnaturally large bite.

_Granny may be the World's greatest cook, but she never has managed to make her baked goods taste this delicious._

The sound of her phone ringing interrupts her thoughts and weirdly orgasmic moans. Answering as she swallows the last of her early and extremely unhealthy lunch.

Regina interrupts her greeting before she even begins to voice it. _"Emma?"_

Emma smiles. "What happened to Miss Swan? Going soft, Madame Mayor?" A sense of regret burdens her shoulders at the distressed tone of the brunettes next words, _"Where the hell are you?"_

Raking her fingers through her hair, she sighs softly and shakes her head. "Boston."

She almost throws her phone in trying to prevent Regina's shriek from bursting her eardrum. _"What? You've been gone all of 2 hours.. and your heap of scrap metal is.."_

Recovering her hearing, she interrupts. "Calm the fuck down, woman. I didn't **mean** to teleport here, it just.. happened."

_"**You** teleported to Boston?"_

The doubt in the mayors voice completely erases any reminder of the sickness she first felt as her mind flashes to this morning in the kitchen with Regina. A feeling of warmth engulfs her body as the air shifts again. She closes her phone and sways slightly as Regina comes into focus, sitting at the counter with an eyebrow raised.

Emma closes her eyes, once again fighting the nausea clawing its way up her throat. She exhales loudly when the feeling finally recedes. "Your disbelief in my abilities is heart wrenching." Chuckling weakly, "Heart.. wrenching. Get it? I crack myself up."

Regina barely blinks as she responds, "You're hilarious." She cocks an eyebrow at the blonde, "You wouldn't happen to be responsible for me being in my robe again, would you?"

"Um.. I take it you changed after I left."

"That would be the logical reason for my question, yes."

Emma scratches her head in confusion and frowns, "I can change what you're wearing, just by thinking about it?"

"Don't even think of doing it on purpose."

"Wouldn't dream... well actually, I would." Regina fails to hide the tell-tale twitch of her lips as she glares at the Sheriff. "But I promise while I'm awake and not on a magical induced high, your choice of clothing is your own."

"I suppose I'll have to take your word for that."

Grabbing an apple, she leans toward the brunette and whispers, "Were your outfits my choice, you'd find yourself lacking... crucial pieces." She straightens and leaves the kitchen.

* * *

Following the familiar sound of music, she comes to an abrupt stop outside the den as she spies her son dancing around the room, singing. "Don't be fancy, just get dance-y!"

Grinning, she cuts in with the next line. "Why so seriiiooous." Henry's face lights up and he spins on his heel, running and slamming into her as she walks into the room.

She moves to the middle of the room and they dance together as they sing, "We will never be, never be anything but loud and nitty gritty, dirty little freaks!"

Neither of them notice the brunette as she replaces Emma and leans against the door frame, watching them both with a small smile.

It isn't until the end of the song that Henry spots her, "Mum!" He flies toward her as soon as Emma releases him to the ground. "Careful kid, she's more **delicate** than I am."

Regina raises her eyebrow at the blonde when she catches their son before he can slam into her. "I may be smaller than you, Miss Swan- but I could still kick your arse."

Emma laughs with a shrug of her shoulders, "I could just teleport before you got anywhere near me."

An excited little boy's gasp interrupts their little banter, "You can teleport?! That's so cool! Can you show me, ma? Pleeeeease!"

Smiling at his enthusiasm, she walks over to him and ruffles his hair, "Maybe later kid, I've already done it twice and I don't think I could handle feeling sick a third time today."

He makes a face as he pats down his hair. "I'm going to play then."

"Don't forget to tidy your room, like I told you to this morning." Regina reminds him.

Ignoring her sons groan, she turns to Emma. "Your magic is making you sick?"

"I think it might have more to do with the..." She trails off as the brunette curls a hand around her chin. "I should have noticed sooner. It's completely drained you, you need to go and rest."

"But muuuum." The ghost of a smile flits across Regina's mouth as she squeezes Emma's jaw lightly before letting go. "Do try to act your age, Miss Swan."

* * *

**A/N: So I wanted to sort of have a "Get to know the characters" type of thing going on for the first few chapters.. and I think I'm done with that now. This update came later than I hoped due to a week long migraine that wouldn't leave me alone and the fact I can't really force my brain to think of something to write. Hopefully it'll get easier and I'll have less things interfering with my muse, bear with me.**


	4. The Void

It's a few days later when Regina bursts through the bedroom door and exclaims, "I've figured it out!"

Mumbling, Emma rolls over and pulls a pillow on top of her head in a pointless effort to ignore the demon who thought it a good idea to make so much noise this early in the morning. "Go 'way."

"But.. I know how to get my magic back."

Taking the pillow off her head, Emma slowly opens her eyes and lifts her head to glare at the woman. "Great. Now get out and lemme sleep." Blonde curls cover her face as her head slams back down on to her pillow.

Regina walks over to the bed and grabs the blankets covering the younger woman, pulling them from the bed without hesitation. "It's 5am, a perfectly reasonable time to be awake. Now get up and come help me."

"If you don't leave, I'm never going to speak to you again, never mind voluntarily helping you.. with anything.. ever."

Sighing, Regina tosses the blankets back on the bed. "Fine, but if you're not up in the next two hours, I'm coming back... **with a bucket of water.**"

It wasn't until the brunette left that her words sunk in to the sleep addled brain of the blonde. She immediately sits up, suddenly wide awake with too many thoughts running through her head. Chief among them.. _She found a way to get her magic back? I didn't even know she was trying. And she wants my help? How could I possibly help? Oh this is not going to be good.. or pleasant._

Throwing the blankets from her body, she gets out of bed and puts on the floor-length, blue fleece robe Regina loaned her earlier in the week. Leaving her room, she glances down the hallway and spots the faint glow of light beneath the door to the master bedroom. She spends a moment debating whether to knock on the door before deciding it best to wait for Regina downstairs, where there is most definitely freshly brewed coffee waiting for her in the kitchen.

Mug in hand, she makes her way outside to the backyard, the crisp morning air causing goosebumps to form up her legs. The cold doesn't bother her all that much, she's had to chase a lot of people all over the country and through all sorts of horrible weather. So a little spring chill is hardly a reason to bother walking all the way back upstairs to change.

She doesn't have to wait long for the brunette to join her on the porch, she doesn't need to see to feel the warmth of the older woman's body beside her. "Is there a reason we're outside and not somewhere... warm?"

Turning her head, Emma appraised the mayors outfit consisting of a form-fitting black turtle-neck and knee-length skirt. "You mean like upstairs in a nice, comfortable bed? I tried that earlier, turns out it causes demonic she-devils to barge into your room and rudely awaken you."

Without even the slightest hesitation, "Perhaps I should do it more often. It seems early morning actually makes your humour mildly amusing." Regina shoots back.

She can't resist the chuckle that escapes her throat before she drains the last of her coffee. Without a word, she turns and enters back into the house, heading straight to the kitchen for a refill. When Regina enters and sits at the counter, the blonde takes her usual seat opposite her. Not wanting the silence to become awkward, she starts. "So... your magic."

* * *

"Are you sure this will work?" Emma asks for the umpteenth time.

Regina shakes her head, "No, but we won't know unless we try."

She nods, "And how exactly am I supposed to.." She frowns as she recalls the brunettes idea from this morning, "Create a portal.. in a mirror.. to a place I've never even been before?"

Regina looks thoughtful as she attempts to explain the concept of mind melding. "You can use your magic to enter another persons mind." Ignoring the badly concealed look of disgust overcoming the blondes face, she continues. "Upon doing so, they can show you a memory. Unless you force the issue, you won't see anything they don't want you to."

"So, you'll show me a memory of your castle and I'll... what? Imprint it on my mind?" Emma rubs her temple as a familiar dull throb announces an oncoming headache.

"Essentially, that is what you'll do, yes. It will be as though the memory is your own and you'll be able to use it to decide where to place the portal's exit. Which will hopefully be in the throne room."

Regina's expression softens when she notice the paleness of the blondes skin. "Emma, are you all right?"

Emma looks into the concerned brown eyes, about to reassure her when what feels like a horse kicking her in the back of the skull forces her to her knees. "No.. no I'm not." Darkness overcomes her vision as her eyes close of their own accord and she passes out.

"What happened?"

_Henry.._

"I don't know."

_Regina.._

"Is she okay?"

_Concern.._

"I think so."

_Doubt.. __No, not doubt. _

_Hope._

Emma's eyelids flutter as she forces herself to open her eyes, "M-more concern.. Regina?" She tries to joke but the desire to sleep is too overwhelming, so she allows herself to fall in to the darkness once again.

* * *

Regina does **not** freak out. She tells herself this many times as she drags the blonde to her sofa. She threatens, maims, even kills but she does not freak out.

At least, she didn't until Emma woke up briefly to tease her before blacking out again. _She's the damn Saviour, this isn't time for sleeping!_ She says it too, which is why her son is currently staring at her like she's gone nuts. "I think it might be her magic."

Henry rubs the back of his neck, his expression thoughtful. _They're so alike in their mannerisms.. Especially their eating habits. How she manages to make stuffing her face look as adorable as it is when Henry does it, I'll never know._

_Adorable..._

_I think Emma Swan doing something is adorable... _

_And why am I thinking about their eating habits?_

_Maybe Henry's right, I am nuts._

"Is.. is ma going to die, mum?"

"NO!" She flinched as she catches the flicker of fear in his eyes. "I'm sorry.. I'm sure she.. she'll be fine. She'll wake up any minute now and tell us to stop fussing."

_ I hope._

He seems to be on the verge of tears when he asks, "What if she doesn't?"

She releases the blondes hand, not entirely sure when she started holding it in the first place, and crosses the room to where he's shaking in front of the fireplace. She takes a knee in front of her son and clasps his hands in her own. "Henry... Your mother is strong, you know as well as I do how stubborn she is."

_Images of the blonde standing beneath her apple tree, chainsaw in hand and looking as defiant as ever, flash through her mind. Just one of the many circumstances that proves the woman's infuriating stubbornness. _

She suddenly finds herself in an embrace, his arms wrapped tightly around her neck. If his mouth hadn't been right next to her ear, she may have missed the whispered question. "Would you.. care? If she died?"

"More than you'll ever know... more than I could ever hope to explain."

* * *

_Naught but darkness surrounds her, a foreboding blackness invading her every sense. No sight, no sound, no smell; nothing but a lonely emptiness._

_That is until a__ shrill giggle pierces the silence, "The Saviour has finally found her magic!"_

_She'd shake her head in confusion if she was sure she had one. "Rumple? Where am I?"_

_The crocodile tuts, "Not important, my dear." _

_Knowing where you are has always seemed fairly important to Emma. "It's not?"_

_"Not at all."_

Who? Rumple. What? It seems, would be a disembodied voice. Where? apparently isn't important. When, likely has something to do with my passing out. How.. a curious question, but probably not the one I'm meant to ask. So that leaves..._ "Why am I here?"_

_"Ah! A much more relevant question. You.. are here, because I want you to be." More giggling._

_She wished she had eyes, simply so she could roll them. "And what do you want with me?"_

_"Oh it's not what I want, dearie. It's what everyone wants.." He pauses._

_"And what, dare I ask, does everyone want?"_

_"What else is there, but power?" Another giggle._

_"Oh please, not everyone wants power."_

_"On the contrary, Miss Swan. Everyone wants power, it's only the form in which we want it that changes. You for instance, want the power of choice."_

_Try as she might, she can't deny that. She's never been given much of a choice for anything in her life. Growing up, getting pregnant, going to jail. The list containing her lack of choices is miles long, becoming the Saviour being right up there with having magic. "Okay fine, we all want power. How does my being here get that?"_

_"We.. all of fairy tale kind.." He hesitates, "Well.. perhaps with a few exceptions.. but never mind them. We need you to go along with Regina's plan to get her magic back."_

_"How do you even know about her plan? She only just told me about it."_

_"She's always been obsessed with those mirrors of hers, ever since she sent mummy dearest through one. She was such a delightful child." The damned giggling is beginning to grind on her nerves. Did she have nerves without a body? _

Wait.. Regina sent her mother through a mirror? There's a story I want to hear.

_Getting back to the discussion at hand, "Okay, so you know Regina has a plan to get her magic back and I now know that you want her to succeed. Enlighten me and tell me where I am, or rather how I got here?"_

_"As time here is not on our side, the short answer is- the Void. For the long answer, I suggest you ask Her Majesty. As for how.. You're able to be here because... While I am much less powerful in this world, I am not entirely without. Once you gained your magic, I was able to call you here." He looks like he wants to say something more, but after a minute or two of silence, it's clear he decided not to._

_"So... I can really do what she wants?"_

_"Of course, dearie. Were you to receive the proper training, for which I highly recommend the Queen herself, your magic could rival even my own. Experienced a price, yet?"_

_"Um.. I've had headaches. Does pain count as a price?"_

_"Pain is perhaps the greatest price one can pay, but I think after today those headaches won't bother you any more. Nasty side effect of the summoning.. Time is up!"_

* * *

Keeping her eyes closed, she shifts slightly to one side. The touch of what feels like a small body presses against her own and spreads a welcome warmth throughout her being. She gently flexes her limbs one by one.

_Sore, but not injured. I guess collapsing on hardwood floors will do that to a person._

Warily, she opens her eyes to look at her surroundings and is pleasantly surprised when she recognises the guest room she's been sleeping in for the past week. She turns on her side to take in the sight of her son sleeping beside her, his little brow creased into a frown as though feeling concern for her even while unconscious.

She'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little startled when she heard Regina's voice from the doorway, "He refused to sleep in his own bed until you woke up." Freeing a hand from beneath the blankets, Emma smiles as she runs her fingers through his hair.

She feels the slight dip in the mattress as Regina enters the room and takes a seat on the side of the bed. "Do you remember.." A relieved sigh forces Emma's attention from their son to the brunette.

_Was she worried about me? _

Cautiously, she raises herself into a sitting position and reaches for Regina's hand, somehow not surprised when it isn't immediately yanked from her grip. "I remember passing out in your foyer after what felt like someone taking a hammer to my skull. I remember briefly waking.. to you.. the last time I saw panic on that pretty face of yours, I was pulling your arse out of a burning building."

She doesn't miss the amused huff from the older woman, especially when it's followed by that beautiful smile. "Only you could turn a life and death situation into a joke, Miss Swan." Emma lightly brushes her thumb against the back of Regina's hand and hesitantly asks, "What is the void?"

Without even thinking about it, Regina explains. "It's an area of the mind, a place for your subconscious when you're awake. Normal people are never aware of it, but those of us with magic.. as you've found.. can be sum.." Comprehension dawns on the mayors face as she turns to Emma, "Rumple.. He summoned you to the void?"

"Yeah."

The urgency in Regina's voice seems a little unnecessary to the blonde. "You can't trust him, Emma. You can't even trust me and he is.. so much worse."

_I shouldn't trust a creepy leather skinned imp that could turn me into ooze with the snap of his fingers? Your confidence in my intelligence is overwhelming, Regina._

"I don't trust him.." The 'duh' goes without saying. "But I do trust you."

With a doubtful lilt to her voice, "You trust me after I tried to poison you?"

"Yes.. You really need to stop living in the past, Madame Mayor."

Regina shakes her head in disbelief at the blonde, "Easier said than done, Miss Swan." She senses the brunette isn't only talking about the most recent past, given the faraway look in her eyes.

* * *

**A/N: I honestly have no idea what happened once they came back inside, I didn't plan a single thing after that scene. The entire chapter was drafted in my head, ready to go and then.. this happened. Oh well, hope you enjoyed it!**


	5. Confusing Affections

After spending the last week being trained by the former Evil Queen in the uses of magic, Emma now sits crossed legged in the middle of her bed, eyes closed as the upper half of her body sways in rhythm with twin balls of light dancing across the fingertips of each hand, keeping time with the music playing from across the room. Regina had suggested she listen to music during her training, as they discovered early on that it seemed to relax the blonde considerably.

_A constellation of tears on your lashes  
Burn everything you love  
Then burn the ashes  
In the end everything collides  
My childhood spat back out the monster that you see_

"Fitting that I should walk in at this moment." While she didn't hear Regina enter the room, she doesn't seem surprised by her presence; a fact that is easily confirmed by the smile that spreads across the blondes lips at the sound of her voice. The tiny balls of light flare, glowing brighter and brighter with the song's chorus before fading into nothing when the song ends. Emma relaxes back on her arms, blowing a stray curl from her face with a huff as her attention turns to the brunette. "You're as much of a monster as I am."

"Oh? You cursed an entire realm to nearly three decades of misery, did you?"

"Misery?" she scoffs. "Twenty eight years of no magic, no burden of living up to the demands of being royalty, no war, no threat of being the main course for a werewolf, or a witch who lives in a house made of.." Her words trail off when she glimpses the incredulous look on Regina's face.

"Of all the awful tales in our land to refer to, you chose Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel."

It was more a statement than a question, but that didn't stop Emma from trying to justify her choices. "Uh they **ate **people, even if we discount the fact that one of those people was the boyfriend of the one who ate him, cannibalism is disturbing. However, you completely missed my point.."

Regina shakes her head, a flash of teeth as she smiles. "No, I'm merely ignoring my desire to act surprised by the fact you manage to put a silver lining on everything."

Emma nods in understanding, "Yeah, my habit of being optimistic makes me nauseated at times too." she smiles at the brunette and raises an eyebrow. "Sooo.. to what do I owe the pleasure?" drawling the last word, her smile widens into a smug grin at the faint blush of tanned cheeks.

"I thought it might be time to try opening that portal, which means we need to have a talk with your mother."

"Oh, well.. I'm sure this will be fun." the blonde responds as she stands and follows Regina out of the bedroom.

Regina gives a derisive snort, "About as much fun as setting my face alight with a fireball."

Standing next to the brunette as she locks up the house, Emma laughs. "You should definitely lead with a line like that, they'll love you in no time." A comment that Regina immediately dismisses with a roll of her eyes. "I'm not interested in the love of idiots."

Feigning a look of sadness as they make their way over to the Mercedes, "But.. Regina, I already love you!"

Regina narrows her eyes as she opens the driver-side door, shaking her head and smiling faintly when she catches the pout on Emma's face. "You're an imbecile."

Emma reaches over to flip on the stereo as they enter the car, to which she receives a firm smack from the brunette. "Don't touch."

"Oh come on, Regina. It's not like I'm going to force you to listen to death metal, your music is in the damn tray." Before a guaranteed flippant comment from her majesty, she turns the volume down _just in case _and hits the play button.

_I'm waking up to ash and dust_  
_I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust_  
_I'm breathing in the chemicals_

Emma's jaw drops, she stares at Regina and blinks repeatedly. "Wow.. Imagine Dragons, really?"

Slowly turning her head towards the blonde, Regina raises an eyebrow. "And what, may I ask, is wrong with Imagine Dragons?"

Inwardly cringing, Emma scratches her head and looks away from the brunette. "Uh nothing it's just.. I don't know, I expected you to like classical music or... something."

"I do, that hardly means I can't like less..."

Emma grins and teases, "Old grandma music?"

"Well technically, I am your step-grandmo.."

"NO! ******Bad **Queen.**" **Making no attempt to hide how unpleasant she finds the thought, her body shudders visibly.** "**You're **not** Snow's mot.. step-mother.. whatever. You're like.. thirty-something and I wasn't even born then, so just no."

"If you say so, dear."

"My thoughts of you are corrupt enough without mixing that mess of confu-" Her words are cut off by Regina leaning across the centre console to bridge the gap between them, pressing a palm against her jaw as she cups her cheek and forces the blonde to look at her. "You talk too much, Miss Swan." She leans forward and lightly brushes her lips against the blondes, their eyes closing simultaneously. Within seconds, stars begin to dance beneath their lids, a faint glow engulfing their forms and infusing them with the same warmth Emma had felt in the past every time she'd used her magic.

Regina breaks the spell with an audible gasp, their eyes snapping open as she tears herself from Emma's lips, her expression a mix of wonder and confusion. Brown eyes studied green as both women attempt to regain control of their breathing and make sense of their irregular thoughts and feelings.

* * *

Their eyes avoided each other after they'd agreed to shelve the much-needed talk about.. them. Instead choosing to resume their earlier activity of driving to the Charming residence to discuss the temporary living arrangements of their son.

To say that Snow might be shocked upon opening her door to Emma **and **Regina, would be a monumental understatement. In fact, if you'd timed how long the awkward silence was, you'd be just as uncomfortable as the three women. It was Regina's surprisingly patient tolerance that gave away to irritation before the mother or daughter. "As thrilling as this is, we need to talk."

"And why would I want to talk to you?"

Rolling her eyes, Regina nudges Emma in this ribs with her elbow. "Ow.. Hi mum, we need to talk, can we come in?" Not waiting for a response, the blonde places a hand in the small of the mayors back and gently pushes her forward into the apartment, following close behind as Snow closes the door.

"Real smooth."

Emma's eyes gleam mischievously as she grins, "What can I say? I'm naturally cha-"

Shooting the blonde a glare, Regina interrupts her. "Don't you dare."

She pouts for a moment, before shrugging and facing her mother. "We were wondering if you'd mind having Henry for.. Where is he?"

Snow shifts uncomfortably as she looks worriedly from Regina to Emma, "Your father wanted to teach Henry how to use a sword, so they've gone out. You want Henry to stay with us? Why?"

Regina raises an eyebrow, clearly not in the mood for explaining her actions to the pixie-headed woman. "A simple yes or no would suffice."

Emma reaches a hand to her forehead, rubbing away the tension already building there.

_I thought these damn headaches were going to stop. _

She sighs, "Ignore her. We need to.. leave for a while and it's probably best that we don't take him with us."

"You're leaving Storybrooke? Why? Where are you going?" the whining quality of Snow's tone sets her teeth on edge.

"I had no idea we were on an episode of Jeopardy." Regina mutters.

Emma walks over to the couch and slumps down, noting the concern on Regina's face and choosing to ignore the obvious question in the older woman's eyes before looking at her mother and seeing a similar look there. Groaning, she decides to just answer the question and ignore both of their worrying. "I'm going to help Regina with.. something personal in.. New York."

Snow shakes her head, clear disbelief made even more clear by her words. "You're lying."

It was obvious that Regina has had enough of Snow before she even opens her mouth, but Emma is too busy with the sudden pounding in her head to bother with any attempt to stop the woman from speaking. "That's because it's none of your business. Will you do it or not?"

"Of course I will, he's my grandson!" Snow snaps.

"Splendid. Emma, let's go." She's not given the time to protest or even stand before Regina grabs her by the wrist and pulls her to her feet, leading them both to the door and out of the apartment. They don't stop walking until they reach the Mercedes, where Regina halts and spins on the blonde. "What's wrong?"

As soon as Regina drops her wrist, the pavement begins to spin and a pressure starts to build in the pit of her stomach. "Not good.. Please don't kill me for this." She latches onto the mayor's hand and closes her eyes.

A few minutes pass before the feeling in her stomach fades, she cracks an eye open to assess the current movements of the pavement before opening both eyes fully and slipping her hand from the brunette's. While the nausea and dizziness lift, she feels a deep sense of regret at the loss of contact. Chancing a look at Regina and expecting to find a somewhat agitated Queen, she is instead greeted by the sight of a Queen who seems more confused as she stares at her hand.

Emma bites her bottom lip and shoves her hand into her pockets. She clears her throat, "You want to talk about it?"

It seems to take a moment before her question registers with the brunette. Taking a deep breath, Regina shakes her head before responding. "Not really, no."

With a quiet, "Okay." she slips into the passenger seat of the Mercedes and waits for Regina to drive them home, unaware of the unshed tears glistening in the former Evil Queens eyes.

* * *

Thrice in one day she's been surprised by Regina. First the music, then the kiss and now the simple act of innocently holding hands. Now here they are, standing in front of the mirror in the master bedroom, avoiding each others eyes and not talking. The silence isn't uncomfortable by any sense of the word, ridiculous in Emma's opinion, but not uncomfortable.

_Damn magic shit._

_Why the hell is this bothering me so much?_

Giving up on her feigned nonchalance, "This is stupid. If we're going to spend an untold amount of time together in some godforsaken world with magic and creepy fairytale monsters, we're going to have to sort out our shit."

Their eyes meet in the mirror, but Regina still refuses to say anything.

"My mag.." she shakes her head. _Honesty. _"**I **like you, even more so after you kissed me. Your surprisingly good taste in music, is a bonus. It also turns out that you make me feel better when my treacherous body wants to freak out without my permission. So let's agree that this is.. weird and just.. not act like children. We're adults, we **need **to talk about it."

She could see the war waging in Regina's eyes, no doubt finding difficulty in admitting to herself that she was falling for Emma. If it were a few months ago, they'd likely find themselves yelling at each other. Now however, the blonde knows that it won't do any good to push the brunette.

_If it's a choice between admitting her feelings and closing off.. well, Regina never has been good with feelings._

So with that thought, she reaches toward the mirror and closes her eyes. Feeling the familiar warmth of her magic enveloping her hand, she brings to mind the image of the cold, dark throne room she'd extracted from Regina's memories and trails the tips of her fingers down the glass.

"Regina.." She can discern the beginning of an opening but knows it's not enough.

Before she can announce her concern, a soft hand lightly clasps her shoulder and squeezes reassuringly. While her mind isn't at all comforted by the action, her magic appears to accept the gesture by sending a pulse of searing heat through her arm, into the mirror and forcing the glass to ripple briefly before pulling them both in.


	6. Welcome to Fairy Tale Land

**This chapter is rated a hard M, due to sexy times. (It's generally just for swearing, because my Emma is a Neanderthal)**

**I still don't own the characters... and blah blah blah.**

* * *

"Well that was mildly painful." She raises herself from the floor and coincidentally, from atop Regina. "Though I approve of the landing." Brushing her hands against her jeans as she stands and offers one to the brunette, who accepts the help without comment.

After a brief examination of their surroundings, Emma's opinion of the Dark Palace was that it didn't live up to its name at all. Sure the marble floors were void of colour and the tiny glimpse of a view she caught across the balcony as she stood, was a little desolate, but overall she wasn't all that impressed.

_Empty mirrors, a rather indistinct throne, a severe lack of dragon-like or even humanoid bones, not even a little fountain of blood._ A brief clicking of tongue against teeth, her only sign of disapproval.

Growing up with her world's television and movies, she had expectations and at this present point in time, she was a little disappointed by the lack of evil flare.

_Aside from the whole ripping out hearts thing, which is pretty bad ass; worst Evil Queen ever._

Upon glancing at Regina, she figures the brunette is still sulking or whatever it was she's been doing, so she leaves the throne room in favour of wandering around the castle.

With an untold amount of twists and turns later, she concludes that she is in fact, lost; though she's fairly certain she could simply teleport back to the throne room if it comes down to it. For now, she's content to happily snoop through the many doors lining the halls.

No more than a few minutes pass before she comes across a rather unusual looking door. Not that it looks weird or sinister, just different. She's passed by enough of them by now to know that the room behind is likely more interesting than any of the others. Naturally, she gives very little thought to her actions and without even a consideration for caution, she opens the door and steps into the room.

_This certainly wasn't what I was expecting._

The first thing she notices are the soft, crimson drapes that cover the walls, their gentle glimmer from the light of candles clasped in iron chandeliers that hang from chains from the ceiling. The second thing, is the fact she can't seem to find any windows gracing the room with light, but rather than leaving her with a sense of ominous foreboding as she had expected, she's overcome with a sense of quiet solitude Her eyes finally land upon a queen-sized bed that resides against the back wall of the room, its headboard engraved with a golden crown encircling an apple tree with four large branches and a multitude of coloured furs adorning the bed itself.

After regaining her composure and convincing her jaw it was fine to pick itself up from the floor, she smiles and looks around the room in wonder.

"Wow."

You can hear the smirk in the brunettes voice when from behind the blonde, she speaks. "Surprised?"

Emma almost squeaked at the sound, quickly covering it with a cough and allowing minor irritation to seep into her tone. "Fuck Regina, would you mind **not **scaring the shit out of me?"

Regina brushes past her and through the doorway, sauntering into the room with a noticeable and rather hypnotic sway to her hips. "I would mind, actually." Turning, she smirks and folds her arms against her chest. "I find that barbaric tendency of yours to use filthy language when thrown off-balance, amuses me."

"Oh, well! We can't have her royal highness going without her entertainment, how selfish of me to ask for some consideration."

"Indeed." Before the blonde can respond with another sarcastic remark and without any warning, the brunette launches herself forward and presses her mouth to the blondes, a hand snaking its way around and up her neck to tangle in soft curls, its twin seizing a toned hip.

A moan bubbles low in Emma's throat, her bottom lip tingling when the brunette brushes against it with the tip of her tongue. Wrapping an arm tightly around the slim waist in front of her, Emma pulls them flush against each other. She grips the back of Regina's neck and permits the deepening of the kiss by opening her mouth and welcoming the inquisitive tongue.

When the need for air becomes too much, she releases Regina's mouth and rests her forehead against the older woman's shoulder. Taking a shaky breath, the haze clouding her mind lessens slightly at the separation. "I.. uh."

A waft of warm air caresses the side of her neck as the brunette unleashes an indignant huff; the note of displeasure clear in her voice. "Not now, Emma."

Raising her head, Emma gives her a small smile of understanding as their eyes meet. "I just.. You're not going to freak out and ignore me again, are you?"

Regina brings a hand to the blondes cheek, leaning forward she presses another, brief kiss to swollen lips. "I'm far too comfortable to bother. Besides, I have to put up with you for an unknown period of time and... Well this is much more preferable to ignoring you."

The thickness of the brunettes reply, combined with the feel of those lips is almost enough to curb the blondes amusement. "I find that I'm mildly insulted, yet oddly pleased with that answer."

Emma suppresses a shudder when Regina slips her hands under her shirt, ghosting over her stomach and coming to rest upon her hips beneath the cloth. As the brunette leans forward once again and captures the blondes bottom lip between perfect teeth, a surge of magic engulfs them, pulling them together as if trying to fuse them into one being.

"It seems your magic does indeed like me." Nibbling her way along the blondes jaw, up towards her ear, Regina takes the lobe into her mouth and roughly bites down. Emma emits a small hiss, followed by a low moan when Regina soothes the pain with a caress of her tongue.

Grasping hips, Emma tugs against her thighs, causing the brunette to wrap her legs around her waist. Lips locked once again, she walks them toward the bed, falling forward the moment she feels the frame against her knees, her mouth vibrating with the moan forced from the brunette's lips, desire flooding between Regina's legs as the taut muscles of the blonde's abdomen lands hard against her heat.

_What.._

Breaking away from the brunette, Emma notices the confusion in those chocolate orbs before she glances down at their bodies. The sudden urge to laugh overwhelming as her brain tries to catch on to what's happened. Her body shakes with the effort to suppress the laughter as their eyes meet once more, a perfectly raised eyebrow accompanied by a small smirk gracing Regina's lips. Emma shakes her head and grins down at her, "Convenient."

Eyebrow still raised, "This can only be your doing.."

_Gods she could turn me on at the worst of times with that voice._

With a light shrug, Emma lowers her head to capture plump, red lips in an unusually sweet kiss before she replies. "I was wondering how I could possibly stop kissing you long enough to undress. Guess I never need to worry about that."

"Mmm, speaking of kissing." Regina grasps Emma's head, pulling her down and fusing their lips together once more. The blonde immediately responds by grinding her stomach into the wet warmth between the brunette's thighs, causing the legs around her waist to clench and force their bodies impossibly tight against one another.

No more than a few minutes pass before a severe lack of oxygen forces them apart, both panting heavily while trying to regain their breath. Emma is the first to recover, made evident when lips firmly attach themselves to the brunette's pulse point, gently sucking against the dull throb while her hand reaches between their bodies and cups Regina's sex, slipping a finger between slick folds. Circling her entrance, she bites down on the pulsing skin beneath her lips before plunging her finger inside.

Regina's cry quickly morphs into a throaty moan when Emma adds a second, her hips bucking upwards and nearly tossing the blonde in an attempt to meet each thrust. Nipping at her neck one last time, Emma uses all the strength in her left arm to flip their positions; impaling Regina on her fingers and delighting in the breathy "Oh fuck me." that escapes the brunette.

Sitting upright, Regina leans back on her hands and rides the blondes fingers; providing an enticing view of bouncing breasts. Taking one in her hand, Emma lovingly squeezes it before rising up and attaching her lips to a stiff nipple. Feeling the brunette's release close, she flicks her thumb against Regina's hard nub, while simultaneously biting the sensitive flesh between her teeth. The effect of the joint pleasure is immediate as Regina's entire body tenses, her insides clenching the blonde almost painfully. "Em-ma." breathlessly escaping her lips before the brunette's juices coat her fingers, followed by her body falling limply against the blonde.

* * *

**A/N: Ok, so this chapter is much shorter than the others. The reason for this is because I suffer that dreaded ADD so even when I want to write something, it's stupidly difficult to concentrate. This chapter DOES carry on from the previous one, but is more my response to feeling guilty for making you guys wait so long for an update. It would likely be a completely different piece, if I didn't feel bad. I would _love _to say I'll get better at this, but chances are I'd be lying. I can however promise an.. extension to this chapter via Regina returning the favour.. if you want it. If not, you may be waiting awhile for more- to which I sincerely apologize and loudly curse myself for.**

**Also hugely advanced warning, I'm volunteering for military service in about a month.. so the updates thing.. probably worse.. yeah, I suck.**


	7. Magic in the Mirror

**Rated M..GWDTTIAP for My.. God When Did This Turn Into A Porno ;) Kiddng, but there is a little smut, wrapped around actual plot. You can skip the sexy times and still have something to read, honest!**

* * *

Emma flitted in and out of consciousness during the night, mostly due to the insatiable desire of the brunette resting against her chest. During one such moment of unconsciousness, she found herself within the void and forced to tolerate the imp's presence once again.

As she was now fully awake, she allowed his words to twist their way into her mind, expanding on the knot of worry that had built within her the second she'd been released from that godforsaken place.

* * *

"_I lied, Miss Swan."_

_The inability to roll her eyes, due to being nothing more than a disembodied voice, causes her to huff in irritation. "That doesn't surprise me, you've never struck me as being honest or trustworthy. Care to elaborate or would you like me to guess?"_

"_Did I interrupt something, Sheriff? You seem rather agitated this evening." _

_The fact he seems genuinely curious ends up fuelling her irritation for some reason. "It's morning here, and yes; you interrupted this nice dream I was having about punching you in your annoying face. What do you want?"_

"_Well I can see we're not going to take part in pleasant small talk." Amusement clear in his voice. "I lied to you both. Our favourite Queen still has her magic and always has, she's simply been unaware of it."_

You annoying little piece of.. _"__I'm assuming you're telling me this for a reason that doesn't involve me coming back there to kick your creepy, manipulative arse." she growls._

_Clearly no longer phased by her hostility, he replies. "Indeed. The protection around Storybrooke, that kept people from finding the town those long twenty-eight years? It happens to also prevent us from leaving and.. well, I find it just isn't coinciding with my plans, I need it removed."_

_She can't help but laugh at the man's arrogance. "And you expect me to do that from here? Scratch that, you expect me to stay here to what? Help you?"_

"_I may have lied to you, Miss Swan. But my reasons for wanting you there remain the same, it will benefit everyone. Now this form of communication is extremely taxing, if you'd care to contact me when you're awake, I'll explain myself."_

* * *

She lays there lost in thought, going back and forth between worry over what Rumpelstiltskin is expecting them to do, to simply enjoying the body cradled in her arms.

Creasing her brow with a frown, she mutters. "How am I supposed to contact him while I'm awake?"

A muffled "Hmm?" startles her as Regina stirs from her slumber. Unable to prevent the smile curling her lips as she watches the brunette attempt to blink the sleep from her eyes. "There's a good chance you'll kill me when I say this, but you're adorable when you wake up."

"I would love to kill you, but..." Stifling a yawn, Regina lays her head back down to the blondes chest and closes her eyes. "I can't even be bothered finishing that sentence."

Her body twitches briefly; a small jolt of pleasure travelling straight to her core in response to the unbelievably sexiest morning voice she's ever heard. "So lazy, my Queen." She teases with a smile as her hands develop a mind of their own and start to caress the warm skin beneath them.

She feels Regina shift against her before pressing a thigh between the blondes legs, the brunettes heat radiating against her own thigh. Bending her leg at the knee, her hands reach down to cup Regina's backside, squeezing and compelling the brunette to grind against her.

To Emma's surprise (and pleasure) Regina pushes herself to hands and knees, thrusting her thigh hard against the blonde as she moves up her body to capture lips in a slow, passionate kiss. She sucks on the blonde's lower lip before pulling away, scooting herself backwards and coming to rest between welcoming, parted legs. Glimpsing the wetness there, Regina's voice is hoarse with want. "I could get used to this." A gentle nip at the blonde's thigh before she slowly strokes her tongue between hot folds, a gasp escaping Emma's lips when a vibration rips through her body, courtesy of Regina's growl upon tasting her.

Wrapping her legs around the brunette, Emma pushes down on the back beneath her heels, encouraging her. A loud moan accompanying a breathless "Fuck Gina." when she's rewarded with Regina burying her tongue inside her. A few agonizingly pleasure filled minutes spent thrusting in and out pass before Regina replaces her tongue with three fingers; her mouth now clamped down on the blonde's clit, sucking forcefully as slender fingers speed up their pace, pumping harder and faster.

Emma groans when the heat of built up pleasure threatens to overwhelm her with its force. Shutting her eyes, stars begin to form behind closed lids and the moment her thighs clamp down on Regina's head, the brunette responds by grazing her teeth across the sensitive nub as her fingers curl inside the blonde, hitting that perfect spot; causing Emma to cry out and fall over the edge.

Crawling back up Emma's body, Regina pauses at her breasts and leans down, lightly flicking a nipple with the tip of her tongue. "Sorry for neglecting you." She looks at Emma and winks before resuming her place atop the blonde's body and drifting back to sleep.

Emma's smile from the playfulness slips into a frown as Regina's breathing slows, her thoughts once more going back to Rumpelstiltskin.

_Thanks for ruining this mornings opportunity for prolonged happiness, Rump-a-dump._

_I am **so** going to knee you in the balls and forever refer to you now as Rump-a-dump. paybacks a bitch._

_A childish, horny bitch._

* * *

Both finally awaken and manage to tear themselves apart long enough to get out of bed, as they now sit beside each other at what Emma refers to as the 'ridiculously long' dining table, picking at magically conjured food; a fairly simple spell Regina taught her in only a short few minutes.

Emma realises she'll probably need to talk to the brunette to find out whichever spell she needs to contact the imp, so it is with a mildly exaggerated sigh that she turns to Regina. "How does one go about.. talking to someone in another world?"

Regina raises her eyebrow, forgoing an actual reply without an explanation first.

Emma eventually catches on and rolls her eyes. "Rump-a-dump summoned me to that Void place again, he wants me to contact him."

"Rump-a.." Shaking her head with a bemused look. "No, not going to ask. I recall that I've already cautioned you not to trust him."

"Believing someone requires trust, Regina. Talking, not so much."

"I wouldn't even talk to him."

Swallowing a mouthful of pancake, she's surprised at having conjured them edible, let alone tasting as good as they do; which must have shown on her face because that all too familiar smirk was once again playing across those equally delicious lips._ A__h unsuspecting, sexy Mayor, Queen of my Heart.. sorry about this._ "Yes well, as you actually do have magic you're supposedly unaware of, we're going to need to talk to him."

As expected, confusion replaces the smirk. "I.. what?"

Eyeing the brunette warily, she replies. "He told me you still have your magic and we're not really here to get that back."

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner!" Regina snaps.

Despite the fact it wasn't formed as a question, Emma tilts her head to the side. "And when should I have done that? While you were asleep?" Grinning, she lowers her voice and leans toward the brunette. "Or would you have preferred I told you when you had your head between my legs?"

Her words have an immediate effect in the form of Regina lowering her head as a light blush colours her cheeks. "You.." Sighing softly, her shoulders slump and she nods. "You have a point. I apologize for snapping at you, Emma."

Somehow managing to stop her mouth from dropping open in shock, is completely overshadowed by the look of disbelief. "Uh, slow down crazy. The blushing was cute, the defeatist sigh was a little disconcerting, but the apology.. Please tell my Queen to come back, her doppelgänger is scaring me."

Regina rolled her eyes and straightened up. "You are insufferable."

Emma wags her eyebrows and winks, "You love it." She takes the twitching of the brunette's lips as confirmation, giving her confidence enough to reach out and clasp the back of Regina's neck to pull her in and press their lips together briefly, breaking no more than an inch apart, the brunettes breath warmly brushing against her mouth. Subconsciously, she mirrors Regina as she licks her lips before pulling back entirely and returning to the matter at hand. "Communication spell?"

Regina nods wordlessly, trying to temper the sudden arousal invading her senses. _Some Queen, left speechless and wanting because of__ a simple kiss. _She rises from her seat and walks toward the hall leading back to the throne room. Halting at the door, she turns her head to the side. "Come along, Princess." the recognizable sound of the blonde grimacing causes the brunette to chuckle, easily becoming a full-blown, gleeful laugh as Emma mutters. "Evil witch."

Once they reach the throne room, Regina gestures to the mirror they came through yesterday. "The communication spell, as you aptly referred to it- is similar to opening a portal. Rather than looking for an opening, you're searching for a person. I do however think that it's very early morning in Storybrooke and probably unlikely Rumpel will still be aw.."

Emma interrupts her, "Don't care." She closes her eyes and reaches toward the mirror, bringing the quaint town of Storybrooke to the forefront of her mind. With her thoughts showing in the mirror, she's unsurprised by the light gasp from beside her as her searching halts outside the Mayors Mansion. Regina attempts to direct the blonde only to be interrupted once again. "Your scent distracted me." No accusation in her tone, but feeling the need to reassure the brunette, Emma grasps her hand and intertwines their fingers, preventing Regina from stepping away. "My senses seem to heighten when I use magic, that doesn't mean I don't want you close to me."

"Ah Sheriff, I was wondering how long I'd have to wait. Always a pleasure, Your Majesty."

Opening her eyes, Emma narrows them at the imp. "Damn, I was hoping you'd be asleep so I could throw something through the mirror at you. You're such a disappointment, Rump-a-dump."

She notices the minor twitch in his eye as she spoke, it filled her with a childish sense of delight. "Your continued aggression pains me to hear, Miss Swan." Neither sounding nor looking pained in the least.

Emma rolls her eyes. "There he goes, lying again."

She frowns, a brief pain hitting her in the chest as Regina let's go of her hand and growls at the mirror. "My magic, imp. What have you done?"

He glances at the blonde before his gaze settles on Regina. "Now dearie, I know you don't like me, but is that any reason to hurt the Saviour just to bark at me?" he smirks.

Brown eyes dart to green, the concern reflected in them obvious as she silently apologizes to the blonde.

Swallowing down the lump in her throat, she turns back toward the imp and glares at him. "What did you do with my magic and why are we here?"

"Your mother has returned to the Enchanted Forest."

Regina scoffs. "My mother is dead."

"Wrong. He betrayed you and now your mother is looking for a way here, to get to you."

Emma cleared her throat and took a step forward, forcing the imp to turn his attention to her. "So what? You thought you'd save her the trouble?"

"What I thought, Miss Swan- was that Regina may appreciate the opportunity to.. connect with her mother before she succeeds with her plan and ends up destroying this town and reuniting our illustrious mayor with her Evil Queen counterpart." he replied.

"Let's pretend it's possible to trust what you're saying. How and why?"

"How, involves my former residence and a... box. As for the why, you'll need to be more specific."

"Why are you trying to be helpful?"

"I already told you, twice now."

"Right, it benefits everyone. Though.. I do recall y-you saying there..." Emma falters as a wave of nausea sweeps through her body.

Unable to keep the worry from her voice, Regina reaches out and grounds the blonde by placing a hand on her shoulder. "Emma?"

Before Emma can force out the words of "I'm fine" between gritted teeth, despite knowing they'd easily catch the lie, Rumpel saves her the trouble. "I believe she's reaching the limit of her magic."

"Then we're done here, we'll try again later."

Rumpel waves his hand dismissively. "No need, dearie. Have the Saviour remove that ring from your finger, it's cursed."

"You little.." Regina snarls, temporarily ignoring the fact Emma was practically shaking with the effort of maintaining the spell.

"Yes yes, **Before** she passes out, Your Highness." His tone clearly amused by the Queens anger.

* * *

**A/N: Funny that you lot inspired me to write a chapter with actual plot, faster than I ever have. That "extension" was thrown in for you perverts (Not judging!) that PM'd me wanting more of that kind of thing ;) **

**I ended it here for two reasons. One, why he wanted to talk were covered. Cora is back, he wants to reunite them (Yes, there's a motive for that, but whatever you're expecting that to be, throw it out the window) and Regina's ring was cursed to prevent her using her magic. The next chapter will gloss over what else he would have told them, whether in flashbacks or comments to each other, I haven't decided yet. The second reason is because it would just end up being more talking and honestly, there's enough of that as is.**

**IF you'd like me to go into more detail about something that is in this chapter, I am able and willing. Whether it be answering a question or describing it in the next chapter will depend on it's relevance.**


	8. Matters of the Heart

**This chapter is a filler, it has fluff and it's not really necessary to read though it does gloss over certain things from the previous chapter. We're back to a T rating for now, I think. I'm assuming you younger readers are mature enough to handle mild references to nudity. If not, uh.. pretend you're adults for 5 minutes.**

* * *

Emma raises herself from where she lays into a sitting position, rolling her shoulders before resting back against the headboard. She waits for the brunette to take her seat on the edge of the bed before speaking. "So, what did I miss?"

Regina looked down at her fidgeting hands, frowning as she spoke. "Apparently Rumpel had my mother's heart in his possession before the curse."

"Is that why she was a bitch?"

Regina's head snapped up to stare at the blonde for a moment, caught slightly off guard by how venomous those words sounded. She shakes her head. "No.. I mean, he wasn't controlling her."

Sighing, Emma's tone softens. "So she was just heartless.. Literally."

Nodding, Regina explains. "If we are to believe what he says, then yes. According to him, they fell in love and she removed her own heart to stop herself running away with him."

"Right, because that's not insane." Emma says dryly. "I'm guessing the 'box' he referred to has her heart?"

She nods while watching the irritation play across the blonde's features. "You'd be correct."

Emma can see the conflict within Regina's eyes, she has no doubt about what the brunette wants to do. Having spent twenty eight years without her parents, she doesn't understand the bond between a mother and daughter, but she knows she can do no less than offer her support. With a deep breath, she smiles reassuringly. "We should go and get it."

Regina glances down at her lap again with a relieved sigh, a few minutes of silence passing between them before the brunette responds. "We'll wait a few days, give you time to recover and get your strength back."

"I'm fine, we can go when you're ready." She knew the look of disbelief meant that Regina would try to protest, which prompts her to quickly continue. "I'm not being stubborn or stupid or.. whatever you're about to accuse me of. I feel good, no nausea and.." She frowns as she realises that she has no idea of how much time has passed. "I feel as though I've slept enough?" a minor lilt at the end as she forms the question.

Looking toward the doorway to hide the worried expression from those piercing eyes. It hadn't seemed all that long to Regina, but now that she's having to think about it. "It's been.. a few hours."

Unfortunately, Emma caught the look before she'd tried to hide it and while seeing the raw emotion from the brunette was a kind of relief, it still concerned her, which is why she doesn't bother trying to hide the doubt from her next question. "How many is a few?"

"It doesn't matter, you're awake now."

In typical Emma fashion, she rolls her eyes and leans toward the brunette. "Regina."

Shoulders slumping, Regina caves and replies. "Thirteen."

"Oh." Chuckling, Emma shakes her head. "If that's a 'few' to you, you definitely have more patience than I do."

"Mhmm." her only response.

"Hey, look at me." Reaching toward the brunette, Emma brushes her hand beneath Regina's jaw before caressing a thumb across her cheek. "I'm sorry I worried you."

Closing her eyes, Regina presses into the hand and smiles sadly. "What are we doing, Emma?" She asked, her voice giving away the vulnerability she'd started to feel.

"I'm done running, Regina." While the words weren't a romantic declaration or even an explanation, it is the truth she felt as the blonde spoke that causes Regina to tremble visibly as her body is suddenly overcome with emotion. _She never stops running. __  
_

Sensing Regina's distress, Emma positioned herself behind her, snaking her strong arms around the lithe form of the brunette. Resting her chin atop a shoulder, Emma begins talking softly. "I used to ask myself what the point was. My whole life I've spent being miserable, moved from foster home to foster home. City to city, I felt like life was just one disappointment after another. Then that little boy of ours showed up at my door." They both smile, thinking about their son. "He found me and dragged me back to that tiny town. I thought, I'll take him home to his mother and then I'm out of here. I gave him up for a reason, you know? But then I met you, I thought I decided to stick around for Henry, or maybe even to spite you. Now I think, I was meant to stay. Not for him, not for the curse, but for you."

Body tensing in the blonde's embrace, Regina shakes her head in confusion, her voice containing a little hint of the former Mayor as she exclaims. "That's absurd, you were meant to be there because you were needed. They needed you to save them, from me. You had a destiny, you're the Saviour."

She can feel the nod against her shoulder, unable to prevent the disappointment that flashes through her when the blonde seems to give in so easily. It's short-lived however, when Emma replies with complete confidence. "I'm your Saviour."

Exasperated, the brunette begins ranting. "**My **Saviour? You were born to break my curse. You're the Daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, the child of True Love. How does any of that make you **My **Saviour." Despite her words, Regina can't help the feeling of warmth worming its way through her body, filling her with a sense of hope, a sense of what was right.

"If I wasn't meant to break your curse, we never would have met. We would both be living out our existence devoid of purpose or meaning, forever feeling alone. I understand you, Regina- I always have. You needed me more than any of the others, they may not have remembered who they were, but they hardly needed saving. You... You needed saving, you needed someone who understood you, someone who could make you happy and help purge the darkness from your heart."

She expected the brunette to protest again, maybe even insult her. She was definitely not expecting the question that fell from her former enemies lips. "Do you love me?"

"I.." She frowns.

___You drive me crazy, you treated me like crap from the moment we met. You hate my mother, tried to get rid of me and ended up cursing our son. You're mean, stubborn, vindictive... but I can't ignore the fact you're this way because you're broken, because no one has ever cared for or truly loved you... How can I not?_

Doubt begins to gnaw at Regina every second the blonde remains silent, and just when she's about to give up and leave Emma to her thoughts, she's prevented from doing so as the arms around her tighten and the blonde places a soft kiss beneath her ear. "My feelings for you are deep, overwhelming and far beyond complicated. They're confusing and... wonderful, at the same time. I doubt I'm alone when I admit I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact we're no longer trying to verbally maim each other." Regina snorts, causing the blonde to chuckle. "Right, I didn't think so." Leaning her head against the back of the brunettes, she continues. "I could love you, Regina and I'm not running away from the possibility, but I think it's too soon for us to put labels on this... whatever it is we're doing."

Knowing the blonde was the offspring of the two idiots, she'd thought if Emma did indeed love her, she'd loudly profess the fact and demand she do the same. So Regina was pleasantly surprised by the fact she hadn't done so.

Turning in the blondes embrace, she presses their lips together, trying to express her relief, gratitude and that bothersome little niggling growing in her heart._ I'm afraid that label has already made itself at home. I love you, Emma Swan. But I'll be damned if I'm saying it first. _

Smiling into the kiss, she fully twists her body around and pushes the blonde onto her back as she mumbles against the soft lips. "That was almost romantic, Miss Swan."

* * *

After their little distraction from recent discoveries, they spent a good majority of the night discussing their plan for travelling to Rumpelstiltskin's castle. It involved a lot of explaining on the brunettes part, due mostly to Emma not understanding why they couldn't just use their magic to get there. Not knowing what to expect upon reaching the castle had been the prime reason, on top of Emma still recovering, the magic would be too draining. After a few choice insults about her intelligence from Regina when the blonde suggested they simply 'wing' it, they'd decided to go to sleep.

Emma presses a smile into the shoulder she's resting against before moving away from the brunette, stretching and arching her back to relieve the stiffness from remaining in what was fast becoming her most favoured position to fall asleep in. Only when a hand reaches out to rest against her stomach during the stretch, does she realise the woman of her thoughts is awake and staring at her, chocolate orbs openly revealing her desire.

Laughing softly, she relaxes and sinks back into the bed before rolling onto her side again. The shift of those lust-filled eyes roaming from hips to her chest, not going unnoticed as the blonde laughs again. "As much as I adore the attention, we should get up and get ready to leave."

Regina pouts as the words leave Emma's mouth, her mind fully focused and intent on exploring the pale skin beneath her hand the second she awoke to the sight so openly on display. Huffing when she glimpses the smile still teasing the blonde's lips, she rolls on to her back and sits up before turning to place her feet upon the floor. "Spoilsport."

Emma watches Regina rise from the bed, unable to stop herself from rising with her. She moves toward the brunette on her knees, slipping her hands across hips and around to rest on that deliciously toned stomach, her breasts mashing against an equally delicious back. "I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunities to keep each other warm once we're on our way."

Biting her lip as their breasts touch when she turns in the embrace, Regina teases. "If all you plan to do is keep me warm, Miss Swan; I'll have to return you and insist on a replacement."

When her hands drift down the back to the brunette's backside, she dips her head and forcefully kisses Regina, gently squeezing a cheek in each hand before pulling back. She gestures to her body, grinning when she witnesses Regina's pupils dilating as her eyes hungrily take in the figure before her. "We both know there is no replacement for this, Madame Mayor."

* * *

**I hope this didn't disappoint anyone, especially when it pains me deeply to be so grossly feely. I heard you lot like this kind of thing, so I figured since I was having a little trouble trying to detail events to a specific plot point I'd like to reach in the next chapter or two, I'd just throw this out there. I can.. not do it, if it's preferred. But this flirty, fluffy nonsense happens whether I write it in or not.**


	9. A Mother's Love

"I think we should contact Henry and my parents before we leave." Emma said from the bed, admiring the body in front of her as the brunette dressed.

Pausing her movements, their eyes met for a moment before Regina nodded. "I was going to suggest that myself. I.. I'm sorry for dragging you into this, Emma."

"Hey no, it's fine. Neither of us knew that our plans were going to change. If anyone is apologising, it'll be that sweet old Rump-a-Dump after I'm done kneeing him in the balls."

Regina shook her head slowly and smiled at the blonde. "I didn't think anyone could dislike him as much as I do."

"He ruined all of our lives, yours especially. Dislike isn't even remotely strong enough to describe how I feel about that creepy little toad."

Still smiling, Regina saunters toward the blonde. "Do you know how sexy you are when you're annoyed?" She grips the blonde's shoulders as she leans forward, bending and pressing their lips together a moment before moving away. "Come, we need to leave as soon as possible."

Their search for Snow and Henry went the same way it had for Rumpelstiltskin, complete with an impromptu stop outside the mayoral mansion. This time however, Regina simply smiled at the scene and tightened her hold of the blonde's fingers. Her smile soon turned to a frown as Snow came into view, completely oblivious to the two women in her mirror watching her.

Startled, Snow spun toward them when Emma cleared her throat. The blonde visibly wincing as her mother shrieks. "Wh... How.. Emma?!"

"Christ, anyone would think my mother was part harpy." she mumbles before grinning as the brunette beside her snickers.

Releasing an indignant huff, Snow's eyes narrow on their entwined hands. "Care to explain why you're holding hands with the Evil Queen?!"

Speechless with the fact that's the first thing her mother wants an answer to, her expression is one of confused disbelief. Shaking her head as Regina gently squeezes her hand, she finds her voice again, sounding a little angry. "Since it has nothing to do with why I'm standing here in the **dark palace, infused with magic, talking to you through a mirror**, mother. No, I don't care to explain any such thing to you or anyone else."

"Except Henry." Regina adds.

The anger dissipates instantly at the mention of their son. "Except Henry." the blonde repeats. "Where is he?"

Folding her arms across her chest, the smaller brunette glares at Emma. "It's late, he's asleep."

Dismissing the obvious anger now coming from her mother, she rolls her eyes. "Well I'm going to need you to go and wake him up. I don't think he'd appreciate finding out his mothers might die, after the fact."

"What do you mean you might die?! What are you doing?! Regina! I swear to.."

Irritation growing, Regina snaps. "Just go and wake him, the sooner you quit questioning everything, the sooner you'll get an explanation." She glares at the blonde for her choice of words.

_Well isn't that nice, it seems I'm the target of everyone's glaring today._

It isn't until she hears her mother's footsteps ascending the stairs in that tiny apartment that Emma tries to appease Regina. "Her constant desire to question me gets on my nerves. Add to that the fact she thinks she has the right to treat me like a child.. well occasionally, I forget to think before I speak."

Being well acquainted with losing her patience when it comes to Snow White, finding her tolerance for the pixie-headed woman decreasing with every meeting between the two, Regina gives the blonde a sympathetic nod and squeezes her hand. "I'm familiar with the feeling when it comes to your mother. Just... try to use that brain of yours when speaking to our son."

The moment Snow and Henry appear in the mirror, his sleep-fogged eyes clear and fill with a happiness that only children seem to have. Even in the thick rasp of his voice, his enthusiasm seeps through at the sight of his mothers. "Mom's!"

Regina is the first to respond as she reaches out to touch the glass, the boys smile widening as though able to feel the loving caress against his cheek. "Hello baby boy, we're sorry to wake you."

Shaking his head, a sense of déjà vu causes the two women to groan when his eyes dart to their hands before fixing on Emma. "Ma, why are you holding hands?"

"Well.. it's a nice hand." She grins at Regina who smirks in reply.

The resemblance between mother and son is clear when a wide Emma-like grin spreads across his face. "Are you two gonna get married now?"

Both brunettes tense at the same time, Regina's hand clamping the blondes tighter, as if trying to break her fingers. "Jesus, ease up on the grip, She-Hulk." Looking to her son, she smiles and shakes her head. "It is way... way too early for that kind of question and.." She hesitates, licks her lips. "While I'm sure your mother would look great in a wedding dress, I'm not really the marrying type kid."

Her eyebrow raises when the other two women voice their exact same thoughts. "You're not?" While Regina sounds surprised and a little sad, it's the disappointment in her mother's tone that stops her speaking further, an uncomfortable silence descending on them all.

She can't help the laugh when Henry let's out a puff of air before breaking the silence with a muttered, "Awkward."

"You said it, kid." Slipping her hand from Regina's, she takes a step forward. "Alright, we need to fill you both in and then we need to leave."

Taking a deep breath, she begins by explaining their conversation about finding Regina's magic, which leads to a minor argument with Snow before she allowed her anger to take over and told her mother to shut up, the guilt she may have felt at the time was overridden by the happiness the chuckle from beside her evoked.

Henry stood quietly, his eyes looking between both mothers as he listened to the blonde. He only interrupted her with an "Ew" after she'd informed them that Cora had ripped out her own heart. After going over what they were planning, the blonde finishes and settles her gaze upon her mother.

Getting the hint that she was expected to voice her thought and wasn't going to be interrupted again, Snow speaks up. "Let me get this straight. My daughter is willingly going on a quest to find the heart that belongs to the mother of the Evil Queen, with the Evil Queen because a manipulative, well-known liar asked her to."

"Aside from calling it a quest and insulting my girlfriend, I'd say you summed that up rather nicely." While Emma's expression was a calming sort of blankness, Regina could see the irritation seething below the surface. A glint in emerald eyes, the clench of a sharp jaw, the flexing of fingers. Her own perception surprises her for a moment, the only time she'd ever noticed these things about the blonde was during their many fights, looking for signs of which buttons to press, how far to push. But now, now she's simply wondering whether she needed to save the woman in the mirror. _**Save **__Snow White? Ridiculous. _Shaking her head, she decides that Emma would regret hurting her mother and that's the only reason she'd even consider helping the annoying idiot.

Emma can feel the strain from her magic, the familiar tingling of nausea bubbling in her stomach, her eyes slowly growing heavy with each passing second. She's suddenly snapped out of it when Regina takes hold of her hand once more and a familiar heat flows up her arm, the exhaustion and nausea fading almost instantly.

At the curious glance from Emma, Regina leans in to her side, her mouth inches from the blonde's ear as she whispers. "Something might go wrong, I don't want our son's or.. or your mother's last memory of you to be that of you fainting or throwing up." Straightening, she turns to Snow. "I'd like a few minutes alone with our son, then I will leave and allow you the same with your daughter."

* * *

They were able to leave the castle shortly after saying their goodbyes, it was mid-afternoon by the time they were on the path through the Enchanted Forest. Regina was a few feet in front, Emma lost in her thoughts and not paying enough attention to bother keeping pace with the brunette.

Regina however, was very aware of the lack of the blonde's presence beside her. It had bothered her for the last half hour and the only reason she's refrained from saying anything is because she was in the process of arguing with herself. Feeling that her wish to be close to the woman could be mistaken for being clingy or possessive, while her mind was telling her she was being stupid.

_You just don't want to admit you need her. Admit that she makes you feel safe and loved..._

The warmth of a hand slipping into her own causes her head to snap up and around, brown eyes meeting green. Her heart skips a beat as she glimpses the different emotions within emerald depths, concern, care, happiness, love. _How can she love me?_ A slight squeeze of the hand. _I'm evil. _The shake of a head. _I've killed people. _A sad smile. _Can she hear me? _Fingers intertwine.

They come to a stop, Emma tugging the brunette towards her and capturing soft red lips with her own. She reaches out, grasping Regina's other hand, pulling them behind her back and coercing the brunette into wrapping her arms around her waist before loosely resting her own upon Regina's shoulders.

The kiss deepened as Emma swiped her tongue along Regina's lips, the brunette parting them invitingly as her arms tighten around the slim waist of the blonde. It only lasts a few minutes before Emma's lips retreat from her own, the blonde softly brushing them against her cheek. Her voice low, commanding and leaving no room for argument when she speaks. "Stop thinking so hard." Emma takes her hand once more and again entwined their fingers, forcing the brunette to follow as she resumes their journey.

They travelled in silence, interrupted only for a few seconds when Emma wanted an answer to a question or she spotted something unfamiliar in the forest. For the most part, they were quiet, which allowed Regina the time to go over the plan to retrieve the heart. It wasn't all that complicated really, there wasn't a whole she needed to account for. They had to walk there, which would take a few days at least. She knows how to hunt, although she figured the blonde would rather die exerting her magic to conjure her food. She knew there had to be people here, there was no way the curse brought everyone to Storybrooke, it was much too small to fit the population of an entire world. Get to the castle, avoid danger, find the box with the heart, find my mother, return the heart.

_Right, not complicated at all. Let's ignore the fact my mother is magical and more evil than I ever was. We're both going to die and Henry is going to be stuck living with the Charmings and taking lessons in how to "find each other" like a prat._

She's brought out of her thoughts when Emma stops suddenly and breaks the silence. "What happens at night?"

Regina raises her eyebrow at the blonde. "It gets dark?"

Letting go of the brunette's hand, she folds her arms in feigned annoyance, easily contradicted by the amused expression. "I think my tendency of being a smart ass is rubbing off on you."

"Well if you'd like a proper answer, you should phrase your questions better, dear." Regina chuckles.

"What are we going to do when we need to sleep?" She points a finger at the brunette in warning when she sees the corner of a lip curl upward. "Do not say lay down and close our eyes."

Regina's eyes sparkle with barely contained amusement. Sighing, she pats the blonde's cheek and brushes past her, continuing to walk on toward the village she knew was only a few hours away. "I don't know if there will be people there, but I know there is an inn along this road." She pauses and looks over her shoulder. "We may get there before nightfall if you quit stopping every five minutes."

Emma knew she probably shouldn't, but when did that ever stop her? Catching up to Regina, she scoops her into her arms, mock evil laughing when the brunette squeals and clings to the blonde's neck. "Miss Swan!"

She glances at the brunette, scanning brown eyes for any genuine anger. Finding none, she mimics the former Evil Queen. "Ms Mills!"

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, still not where I want them to be but... ah screw it, this is what's happening and I'm not apologising for it.**

**By the way, if you're wondering where Charming is.. I don't know what to tell you, I don't think my muse really likes him. Maybe he'll appear in future chapters, who knows?**


	10. An Old Friend

**Rated: **M for the smut at the end.

**Just a heads up: **An O/C will enter this chapter, because Regina deserves more happy and if you don't like it, stop reading right now and smack yourself.

* * *

It turns out that there were people left over from the curse, what surprised Regina was that they were, for the most part, her people. While there were a few curious looks sent their way- there was no screaming, no little old women cowering in fear, no men pretending bravery by pushing their wives, girlfriends or children behind them in trying to protect them from the Evil Queen.

After all the stories Emma was subjected to, the way her mother spoke of Regina's reign, she was having difficulty accepting the lack of aggression. "I thought people were afraid of you?"

A faint smile passes over the brunette's lips as she spoke. "My people never had much of a reason to fear me." Glimpsing the confusion on the blonde's features, she continues. "I was fair to them, kind when it suited me. I may have been angry, but I found no pleasure in mistreating my kingdom or my subjects."

"And yet, you're known to all as the Evil Queen."

"Your mother is the reason for that title, most referred to me as 'Your Majesty.' much like you kept doing when the curse broke." Her smile widening, she looks to the blonde. "After what has happened between us, I'm not embarrassed to admit I always liked it when you did."

Grinning, Emma pauses and bows slightly. "I aim to please, Your Majesty."

Returning the grin with a smirk, the brunette replies. "And you do it so well, Princess."

Shaking her head, the blonde follows Regina as she approached the door leading to the inn. "You know, I'm fine with 'Sheriff' or 'Miss Swan' or if you're.. you know, feeling generous, Emma would be perfectly acceptable."

As soon as they enter, they're assaulted by a loud voice. "Your Majesty!" Before either of them were given the chance to speak, Regina finds herself wrapped in the arms of a hulking bear of a man, easily being lifted off of the ground. "We thought you were dead!"

_There's only one person who would dare..._

Smiling, she looks down into the face of an old friend and cups his cheeks in her hands, the rough stubble against her palms an all too familiar feeling. "I'm afraid I might end up that way if you keep handling me like this, Galen."

Setting the brunette back down, he takes a step back and notices the blonde suspiciously eyeing him. Looking at Regina, he nods toward Emma. "Who's the cutie looking like she wants to tear my head off?"

Emma smiles as Regina slips an arm around her waist, her heart swelling with happiness when the brunette replies. "I'm starting to think she might be the other half of my happy ending."

"Other half?"

"Well, I can't give her all the credit, we do have a son."

Noticing the big man's frown, Emma speaks up. "It's complicated." She turns to Regina and grins. "And feel free to lay all the credit on me, our son won't mind."

With a boisterous laugh, the man clamps down on Emma's shoulder with a meaty hand. "Well then! Welcome to the Evil Family, Blondie."

"Ow." Rubbing her shoulder, she can already feel the bruise that will no doubt appear in the morning. "It's Emma, actually."

Moving over to a table in the corner of the room, Regina dismisses the introduction. "Oh don't bother, he won't use it."

"Is this the start of a pattern?" Seeing the smirk, she rolls her eyes and takes a seat opposite the brunette. "I'll be sure to tell my mother that naming me was completely pointless."

"I'm sure it will please Snow White to hear that."

Surprised at how indifferently his friend referred to her long time enemy, Galen asks. "Snow White? She's not dead?"

"Of course not. I made her suffer for twenty-eight years without her family.. before the **Saviour** showed up and broke my curse." Emma was speechless as Regina talked almost gleefully about her curse, only to frown when the brunette spat her title out like it was some sort of poison.

Galen excused himself once he'd noticed the look on the blonde's face and made his way over to the bar. Sending him a grateful look, which he responded to with a smile, Emma returned her attention to Regina. "Uh, have we forgotten that said Saviour is right here and **the other half **of your **happy ending** or did Her Highness just go a little evil queen crazy just then?"

Frowning, the brunette blinks at the blonde as her words replayed through her mind. Realisation slowly dawning on her that her words had sounded more aggressive than she had meant. Truly, she wasn't angry with the blonde and even her want to harm the woman's mother had been somewhat tamed since their arrival in this world. Spending time with Emma had been good for her, far more good than she would ever dare to hope.

Shaking her head, she sighs softly. "I'm sorry, Emma." Trying to lighten the mood, she teasingly adds. "Though I am still mad at you for breaking my curse." She immediately regrets the words as a barely contained storm flashes across green eyes as the blonde recalls exactly why she had been able to break her curse.

_Maybe it would still be intact if you hadn't cursed our son._

Seeing the pain of recognition on the brunette's face, Emma shakes the thought from her mind. She closes her eyes, willing the surge of anger away.

_She was teasing you, she didn't mean it. She has to live with what she's done, reminded by it every single time she looks at her son and remembers how she almost lost him. _

Opening them, she leans back into her chair and feigns indifference with a shrug. "Hey I was bored, these things happen."

Releasing the breath she hadn't known she was holding, Regina reaches across the table for Emma's hand. "No they don't." She smiles softly when the blonde brushes a thumb across her knuckles.

"Well they do to me." Her eyes were drawn to Galen as he strolled by their table, food and drink for what looked enough to feed a small family burdening his arms. Her gaze followed him to a table of five, her stomach loudly protesting as she saw a little boy savagely dig into the plate laid before him. "Dude, what do I have to do to get a drink and something to eat?"

Galen grins and walks over to their table. "You could try asking politely."

Regina snorts, a smirk teasing her lips as the sound washes over the blonde. "Asking her to be polite is like asking you to remember what she said her name was." The somewhat offended expression that comes over the blonde's face makes her chuckle softly.

"You've forgotten my name already?"

Galen glares at the brunette fondly, dismissing Emma's question with a shrug of broad shoulders. "Food and drink, coming right up."

* * *

Blissfully buzzing from the effects of the alcohol that had been generously heaped upon her after finding out she'd unknowingly devoured the lion part of a chimera, she took the key handed to her by Galen and left Regina to catch up with her friend while she figured out how to navigate stairs in her current state and find the room they were given to sleep in for the night.

Stumbling down a narrow hall, she almost collided with a woman. Her speech slightly slurred as she apologised. "Sorry ma'am." Smiling, the woman shook her head at the obviously drunken blonde and asked if she could help. "Just tr-trying to.. to find my room." Snatching the key from Emma's hand, the woman leads her down the hall to her room. Unlocking the door, she passes the key back and smiles before leaving.

After a few trying minutes of unsuccessfully undressing herself, her alcohol induced stupor fades for a moment as frustration brings her magic to the surface. Clothes disappearing in a puff of smoke, she smiles triumphantly before the magic fades. When hit with the drunkenness once more, she gracelessly falls into bed, only just managing to cover herself with a blanket before succumbing to sleep.

A shift in the mattress and a body pressing against her back awakens her a few hours later. A soft hand smoothly glides over her hip, coming to rest upon her muscled torso, fingertips drawing lazy circles against her skin. The familiar husky voice, coated with arousal lighting a fire low in her groin. "I didn't expect to find you naked."

The faint scent of ale whiffs past her nostrils as lips pressed against the side of her neck. The hand moving up her body, fingers lightly brushing over a nipple before the warmth of a palm cupped her breast.

Arching into the hand, Emma urges the brunette on as she reaches behind her, an arm draping across the toned back of her lover and forcing their bodies flush against one another. The moan emitted right by her ear as a mound presses firmly against her backside causes a wet heat to pool between her legs.

Regina squeezes the breast in her hand before trailing her fingers up the slender neck of the blonde, pressing tips to a solid jaw as she forces Emma to tilt her head and rises to claim the blonde's mouth in a hungry kiss.

Taking the arm keeping their bodies pressed so deliciously tight together from behind her, she pulls Emma on to her back before she moves to straddle the blonde. She grabs the hands making their way to her hips and thrusts them up by the blonde's head, using one of her own to restrain them at the wrist and trailing the other back down to reclaim it's mound of flesh.

Leaning forward and capturing those intoxicating lips once more, she pushes her tongue past lips into her lovers welcoming mouth and begins to grind against the taut stomach beneath her.

Moaning at the feel of Regina's juices coating her stomach, Emma arches her back before slamming back down into the bed, causing the brunette sit upright as the impact sends a jolt of pleasure through her body. It's in that moment that Emma feels the grip on her wrists slacken which allows her to break free and grab Regina by the hips. Wasting no time, she re-positions the brunette above her head and pulls her down to her mouth, thrusting her tongue between slick folds and into the waiting warmth.

So caught up in each other's pleasure, neither of them heard the scream from downstairs.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, my muse cut off the smut to kill someone, it can be an arsehole on occasion.**


	11. Message Received

**LOCISVU- I did actually have a moment while writing the chapter where I thought "What if the person in bed with Emma wasn't Regina." which lead to thoughts about Regina being kidnapped.. but then who would I have replaced Regina with? Cora? That thought was disturbing enough to dismiss the idea entirely and just go with what I originally planned. Sorry if that's disappointing ;)**

* * *

Pounding on the door woke them both from their slumber, Emma groaning and rolling over in trying to drown out the noise that wasn't doing the monkey with the symbol banging around in her head any favours.

"Regina!"

Emma mumbles, "It's for you" at the sound as Regina all but throws the covers from their naked bodies and jumps out of bed. Quickly moving towards the door, she's almost turning the handle before Emma stops her with a chuckle. "Wait... You're-"

Regina stiffens as she feels something brush against her skin, looking down she finds her body engulfed in clothing she's never seen before. Relaxing, she raises her head and turns to the blonde, smiling. "Thank you." She waves her hand toward the bed- covers settling back across Emma's still prone form before opening the door.

"Why did you do it, Regina? What did she do?"

Barely containing the yawn threatening to escape, the brunette rubs the sleep from her eyes to see a distraught looking Galen. "Why did I do what?"

"Why did you kill her? Please tell me you had a reason at least."

Regina blinks at the man as her brain tries to piece together the events of last night. She hadn't drank all that much, so once the fogginess from sleep had dissipated from her mind, she was able to sort through the memories- blushing at the thought of how the night had ended. "I think I would remember killing someone, Galen. What are you talking about?"

"Gwen, she's dead."

_Gwen.. who the hell is Gwen?_

"I don't even know who this Gwen is, let alone have a reason to kill her. What happened?"

"Last night, one of the barmaids stumbled across her body."

By this point, Emma was completely awake, listening in on the accusation being thrown at Regina. Her magic had been slowly gathering within her, kept only at bay by the thought looping within her mind.

_He's her friend, he won't do anything. She's not in danger, stay calm._

Distracting herself from temptation, the blonde asks. "Why didn't you come and tell us when she was found?"

"I didn't find out until I woke up, Regina and I stayed up drinking until.. I thought.." He looks at Regina, shaking his head slowly. "I thought you went to bed."

Memories of the former Mayor flash through Emma's mind as she witnesses the tell-tale clench of a jaw and the hands slowly balling into fists. "I **did **go to bed."

Feeling a sudden calmness, Emma uses the building magic to quickly dress herself and rise from the bed, coming to stand behind the brunette. "Perhaps he has a reason for suspecting you.." She places her hands on the hips in front of her when she hears the warning growl low in Regina's throat. "I know you didn't do it, but there may be something unusual about the death."

Galen nods as he regards the women in front of him. "It's magic, you can practically feel it crawling on your skin when you get too close to the body.."

Emma raises her eyebrow. "Well as far as I know, you have three suspects. Regina, Me and Cora." She presses the pads of her thumbs against the brunette when she feels her stiffen, caressing the hips beneath soothingly. "I think you can safely rule the both of us out."

"Why would your mother..."

The doubt colouring his voice forces the brunette to interrupt, grounding out the reason from between clenched teeth. "It's a message. She knows we're here."

Emma shakes her head. "Seriously, your mother is batshit crazy. Whatever happened to stopping by and saying hello?"

Rolling her eyes, Regina places a comforting hand on Galen's shoulder. "Show her to me." Grasping his elbow, they make their way down into the tavern below, the blonde trailing behind them.

* * *

At the sight of the unfortunate woman laying in the barn, Emma groans and blinks rapidly- trying to rid herself of the memory flashing through her mind. "I met her last night." It comes out soft. "You don't think I..." If she hadn't been following behind them, she might have missed the slight hitch in Regina's step before the brunette recovered and continued walking.

"No." Not believing for a second that maybe it wasn't her mother, Regina's response is instantaneous. "You were drunk. We both know there are only two sides to an intoxicated Emma Swan, both of which leave you helplessly incapable of killing anyone."

Coming to stand beside the corpse, Regina reaches out and brushes the hair from the woman's face, ripping her hand back at the last-minute as though someone had just electrocuted her. "She's not dead."

"Wait, what?" Emma rushes to the brunette's side. "She's alive? Can you..." She gestures wildly at the woman before them. "Wake her up?"

Regina releases a breath and grabs the blondes hands, squeezing gently as she smiles at her. "As soon as I find out what my mo.. Cora used, waking her shouldn't be a problem."

Releasing the blonde, she kneels beside the woman and reaches out once more. This time, however, she allows some space between them as she traces her hand down the woman's form. Unable to detect the usual taint of a magical curse, she sighs with relief. "It's not a sleeping curse."

Emma takes a knee beside the brunette, her tone light but curious. "Is that a good thing?"

Regina nods. "It means we won't have to go and search for her true love."

"I feel like there's a but coming on."

"There are a many things that can cause a person's system to shut down and mimic death; dark magic, light magic, poison. I can rule out curses.. and light magic- if this is my mother."

Galen approached them carefully, cautiously- not wanting to interrupt their conversation when the blonde spoke. "So poison?"

"Or dark magic."

Confused, the blonde asks. "Aren't curses dark magic?"

The chuckle from behind her catches the blonde's attention as she turns to the man towering over her, amusement clear in his voice when he answers her. "Not all dark magic revolves around cursing people."

"Oh." She blushes, feeling a little stupid that she had indeed assumed most dark magic were evil curses. Sighing inwardly, she turns her attention back to the brunette. "How will you rule one out?"

"I.. I won't."

Emma frowns, ready to protest when the brunette stops her cold.

"You will."

"What? Why can't you do it?"

"Because you won't hurt her when you reach into her mind."

"What the hell does that mean?"

Frustrated with the blonde, Regina huffs. "It means I'm evil, Emma. My magic is dark, it's painful when used on others. You're good, light, your magic is warm and.. You won't hurt her when you do it, I will."

Emma stared at her in disbelief. After everything she's learned since breaking the curse, believing Regina is evil was right at the top of the list of impossible. _Betrayed, misguided, mildly psychotic- yes. Evil, not so much._ "You're not e..."

Raising her hand, the brunette silences her before she can finish. "Don't. Now isn't the time to discuss that. If this is poison, then it's slowly killing her, you need to hurry up and find out."

Emma could almost pinpoint the exact moment where exhaustion settled itself upon the brunette's shoulders, she'd expected it, had even been waiting for it- but to see it happen caused a dull ache to throb inside her. "Don't think we won't talk about this later." Repositioning herself on the other side of Regina, Emma places her hand across the unconscious woman's forehead. "Why didn't Cora just kill her?"

"I think it has something to do with what Rumpel said about her trying to reunite me with the Evil Queen."

"How?"

"The magic. By doing this she knows I'd want to know what happened, thinking I wouldn't hesitate to take information from the girl's mind."

"Does that mean she doesn't know about me?"

"Either that or she thinks my fear of her is stronger than my.." _Love. She has that strange look in her eye- like she knows what I was going to say. Damnit. _"My wish to change, therefore overruling my common sense."

Every day spent with the brunette reminds Emma of school- not that she'd experienced much of that particular part of childhood with the way she grew up, but from what she had paid attention to, being with Regina involved a lot of learning and adapting to new information. In most cases, seeing the fear in her eyes would call for reassurance but this wasn't about them, it wasn't about Henry or Snow, it was about her feelings and the walls she hides behind would come down eventually, all she had to do was wait. "Right. Well let's hope it's the former."

Nodding, Regina releases the breath she'd been holding. "Yes, lets."

As images from the woman's mind play through her own, Emma frowns as she describes them. "A woman.. I assume your mother, is talking to her. Reaching out to grab her by the shoulders.. I can't read her lips, it doesn't look like she's talking now.. chanting, maybe."

"Extract it."

"What?"

"You've done it before, when we opened the portal and you imprinted my memory of the throne room. Do that now, then you can show me."

"Oh." Concentrating, Emma closes her eyes. _"Pull the memory into yourself, focus on your breathing, feel it seep into your mind." _She laughed when Regina said it, not believing for a second that she were capable of performing such a feat. Feeling the brunette's memory slowly merging with her own, blanketing her thoughts.. it was a powerful experience, intoxicating really- this time was no different.

Emma almost cried out in surprise when Regina grabbed her hand, an almost painful pulse of heat shooting straight up her arm, chasing the memory into her mind only to force it out again and into the brunette.

"Did I hurt you?"

"A bit."

"I'm sorry."

Dismissing the apology with a wave of her hand, Emma reassures her. "No no, I'm getting used to it."

Unfortunately the gesture is ignored, Regina sounding even more concerned now than just a moment ago. "What? But I've never used magic on you."

"Whenever I cast a spell and you touched me, I'd feel this... heat."

"Even with the ring?"

"It was dampened then, I think. When you said my magic was warm, I knew what you meant and every time you touch me it's.. amplified."

"That could be useful." Biting her lip, she wearily eyes the blonde. "The spell she used is a simple freezing spell, you should be able to undo it easily enough."

"Me?"

Regina frowns. "Yes you. You just experienced first hand what my magic does to a person. It's worse when done on someone with no magic to counteract it, you need to do it." It wasn't entirely honest, she admits to herself. While light magic will dull the effect of dark magic, her feelings for the blonde play a strong part in her ability not to harm the woman. Still, a complete stranger with no magical ability would experience significant amounts of pain.

Sighing, Emma's shoulders slump as she shakes her head. "Fine, what do I do?"

"Push your magic into her, it will warm up her blood and thaw her out."

"Thaw her out? She's not a piece of meat, Regina."

When the brunette looks at her, Emma immediately feels like a small child. Already able to imagine the condescending tone about to be used on her, she looks away. "Humans **are **just pieces of meat. Her blood has been frozen, a very cruel and painful process to go through, it is however fortunate that undoing the harm is so very simple and painless. She is a piece of meat placed on a bench to thaw, your magic is the warm sun shining through a window. Now stop being an idiot and save her, Saviour."

* * *

**A/N: Weird? I didn't actually want anyone to die right now, especially when it's some unknown and it wouldn't really serve a purpose- so I decided we could learn a little more about spells and Emma's particular magic instead. At first I was going to describe it as some kind of 'stasis' spell but then.. I wanted something different... and I kind of miss Mayor Regina so I altered it enough to give her an opportunity to be a little.. bitchy. Of course she'll have to pay for it in the next chapter, but I'll try to make it as hilarious as possible.**


	12. Confessions

**I know I said this would be hilarious but uh, Emma seems to have developed a mind of her own and preferred to stay angry so.. sorry. This chapter ended up being severely angst-y instead. Remember that my Emma is a foul-mouthed Neanderthal as well, so there's quite a lot of cussing.**

**Trigger Warning: **Mentions of abuse and a minor reference to rape.

**Disclaimer: **I guess it's time for one of these - I don't own OUaT or the characters and please, All Hail Queen Regina.. because she'd kill us if we didn't.

* * *

As the woman before them opened her eyes, they were both shocked when Galen lurched forward and gathered Gwen in his arms

"Perhaps a sleeping curse would have been simpler after all." Regina muses.

Emma chuckles before she can stop herself, her expression changing the second she recalls how the brunette spoke to her. "I'm mad at you."

It takes a moment for the blonde's words to register, but when they do- Regina looks at her with a confused frown. "What? Why?"

Emma somewhat childishly, she admits to herself, mimics the brunette's earlier words. "Stop being an idiot and save her, Saviour." A barely eligible "Arsehole" muttered under her breath as she storms off toward the inn.

Mouth open in shock, Regina just stares at the blonde's back as she leaves. Sure she was a little harsh with the woman but the insult was uncalled for, or so she thought at least. _Not to mention barbaric and rude. _Shaking her head and dismissing the matter for now, she turns to Galen and Gwen only to find herself in another shocking situation when her friend launches himself forward and captures her in an almost rib-cracking bear hug. "Thank you, Regina- I'm so sorry I.. I'm sorry."

"Galen.. need to.. breath." Relief, along with oxygen flooding her system when he immediately releases her. After a rather undignified moment of being bent over, inhaling copious amounts of air, she straightens and smiles at her friend. "What has only been a month or two for you, has been nearly thirty years for me, Galen. When you knew me, I would not have thought twice about doing that to someone just to amuse myself..."

A sudden shout from somewhere to her right draws her attention, her words trailing off into nothing. Tilting her head, she only has to wait a minute before the familiar crackling of wood can be heard, followed by an exuberant whooping sound. "She wouldn't.."

It turns out that she actually would. As Regina rounds the corner, she spots Emma sitting on a small stump a few metres from the inn- humming as she watched her magic slowly burn one of the trees in the surrounding forest. When Regina had taught the blonde to control her magic along with her anger, she hadn't imagined this.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Emma turned at the sound, the magic shining in her eyes causing the brunette to take a step back. Swallowing, she lowered her voice and tried again. "You could burn down this entire forest and kill us."

Emma releases a small snort of amusement. "You're so dramatic." Pushing out a hand, she extinguishes the fire and revives the tree. If the awed expression was anything to go by, Regina definitely had not been expecting that.

"You have to be shitting me." She knew Emma was powerful for sure, the ability to heal with magic was a rare thing, but the ability to heal nature itself was almost unheard of.

The throaty chuckle from the blonde was enough to pull her from her thoughts. "This isn't funny, Miss Swan!"

"No, but hearing you say 'shitting' was hilarious." Emma glances at her with a smug grin.

Regina blushes, unknowingly having said her thoughts aloud. "Oh."

Reminding herself of why she was in this position to begin with, Emma's grin slips into a frown. "I'm still mad at you."

"For someone who thought it a good idea to set the forest on fire, whether I meant what I said, you seem rather intent on proving it true."

"Excuse me for wanting to release all this pent-up magic before I entertained the thought that setting **you **on fire was a better idea."

"And this is all you could think of to do that?"

"Short of murdering someone with it, yeah. You of all people should know what kind of magic anger allows. I'm not Snow White, I couldn't just conjure up some bunnies for some instant happiness."

"But.. Good doesn't destroy, light magic isn't.."

Scoffing, Emma doesn't bother allowing her to finish. "Why are so insistent that my magic is light? I'm the Saviour so you assume I'm pure and good? This good and evil, black and white shit you lot have going on needs to fucking stop."

She stands and moves toward the brunette. "Where I'm from, that crap doesn't exist. Sure you can be good, you can be evil, but most of us? We're just trying to survive, there's a fuck load of grey in the world, Regina."

Emma pushes the boundary of personal space as she moves even closer, their lips mere inches from one another. The magic in her gaze had dissolved, replaced with an overwhelming sadness. "I've had to steal food so I wouldn't die from starvation, I had to nearly beat a guy to death because he couldn't take no for an answer. Yeah I try to be a good person, but some times it's not your fucking choice and I'm sick of this fairytale moral compass bullshit."

When her eyes start to burn, Emma shakes her head and steps back. Unwilling to breakdown when she's much more comfortable with anger, she takes a breath and directs a glare toward the brunette. "My childhood was shit. I didn't even stay with one family long enough to experience school and the one time I could, I had to runaway because the guy who was supposed to be my father liked to get drunk and beat whichever kid was unfortunate enough to be home. Because fuck who cares if the kid is trying to study, who gives a shit if she's behaving and just trying to get by, he needed to hit something and she was so fucking convenient."

Regina had long since forgotten the tree incident, overcome with the need to simply hug the blonde and vow a very slow, very torturous death on the pitiful excuses who were meant to raise, love and care for this woman. Witness to the pain of a childhood she was unwillingly responsible for, her features became more and more anguished. When the realisation of how her words had caused the blonde to relive the fact she'd never gone to school came upon the brunette, she found herself lunging for the blonde and wrapping her arms around her.

Ranting had drained Emma, she knew any attempt at dislodging the brunette would be half-hearted and if she were being honest with herself, being held like this was comforting. Gone was the anger and sadness, feeling only the warm body pressed against her own and the hands- one stroking her back while the other rested against the back of her neck when her head had fallen against Regina's shoulder.

Rather than pulling back at the sound of the brunette's voice, she found her arms making their way around Regina's waist. "I am sorry, Emma."

Knowing she couldn't undo Emma's childhood, she tried the best she could to comfort her and perhaps relieve the blonde by shouldering what fault was her own. "I'm sorry for being the reason you had to go through such a horrible childhood. I'm sorry that I'm the reason you didn't have real parents."

Feeling Emma cling to her even tighter, she knew that this would perhaps be her only chance to say what needed to be said. "I'm sorry for implying you were anything less than intelligent, for all the times I've insulted you, for every wrong I have ever directly or indirectly done to you. You deserve better and so much more."

She removed the hand from around the neck when she felt the blonde raising her head, a sliver of panic shooting straight to her heart when Emma pulled back. Red-rimmed green eyes connected with tear-filled brown, the panic overridden as arms remained around her waist.

Raising her hand, Regina brushes a thumb across tear-stained cheeks and continues. "I'm sorry for not telling you how smart, how beautiful you are. For not telling you how happy you make me or how much I look forward to seeing you, even when we were at each others throat- seeing you was the highlight of my day."

The sight of the watery smile curling the blonde's lips was enough incentive to lean in and press the most loving, most tender kiss she had ever bestowed upon anyone in her life. It was obvious to her now, she had loved Daniel, lusted for Graham, but she had never once been in love- until now. "Most of all, I'm sorry for waiting so long to say..." Brushing the freshly fallen tears away with a smile. "I love you, Emma Swan."

* * *

**A/N: Be honest with me, could I really have made this any longer after that? Nothing tops Regina saying that first, come on!**


	13. Happiness and Horses

**A/N: This is one of those "The next chapter is going to take awhile and I'm totally not ignoring you and definitely want to make up reasons for the things I write, so here have my imagination." fillers. Hopefully this clears up those of you wanting to know why they had to walk through fairy tale land and I threw a little Henry and Charming goodness in there too, because I'm nice like that.**

* * *

"_I love you, Emma Swan."_

The words had been playing on an endless loop through Emma's mind from the moment they'd been uttered by the brunette. It wasn't the last time she'd heard them and she hoped for all the world that Regina would continue to remind her. Afterwards they had decided to stay at the inn another night, neither of them feeling upto the task of traipsing through the forest.

The next morning was bound to come eventually and when it did, Emma found herself more reluctant than usual to leave the bed they'd spent a lot less time sleeping in than the previous night. She wasn't sure how Regina felt about the fact she hadn't uttered the words back, but she was certain that when she did, they weren't going to be because of a guilty conscience.

When she dipped her head to place the softest of kisses upon a bare shoulder to awaken the woman who had made her feel more loved in the past day, than she'd ever felt in the twenty eight years of her life- all her concerns were allayed when brown eyes opened, accompanied by a beautiful smile. Rediscovering a son, or finding her long lost parents didn't compare to the happiness she felt when Regina turned and burrowed into her with a content sigh.

Roughly two hours later, they had said their farewells to Galen and Gwen and were back on the road. Emma had noticed a change in the brunette, not just because she'd spent the good part of an hour cuddled up to the blonde like she were her own personal security blanket, but the minuscule differences- from the way she now walked, to how her smiles seemed more genuine.

She wasn't going to pry, pointing it out to Regina didn't seem like the right thing to do when she enjoyed the changes. _She'd probably try and cover it up. _No, she definitely wasn't going there. Instead, they walked side by side in silence with Emma glancing at the brunette every so often with a smile on her face.

Regina felt the brief glances every time they came, it was hard to ignore the flutter in her chest whenever green eyes landed on her. She found it flattering, in a way she didn't want it to stop, but it was starting to annoy her. When the glances became staring, she couldn't take it any more. "See something you like?"

Emma's eyes widened as a blush overcame her cheeks, her thoughts completely scattered at the sound of the brunette's voice. "Uh.." Knowing Regina wouldn't allow her to flounder for too long without teasing her, she grasped at the only thought remaining that would direct any conversation away from the fact she'd been staring. "I was wondering.. Why do we have to walk? I mean, where are the horses?"

She felt a little smug at the flash of surprise in brown eyes, it was nice to catch Regina off guard when she could. Admittedly, it was always short-lived. "I didn't think you knew how to ride."

Emma hummed her acknowledgement. She had never spent a lot of time talking about her life before Storybrooke, not to Mary Margaret or Ruby and certainly not with her sons other mother. "When exactly would the fact I once stole a horse when I ran away from one set of foster parents, come up in conversation?"

Regina knew after their moment at the inn that she had a lot to learn about the blonde, still the thought of her stealing a horse seemed absurd. "I..." Shaking her head, she decides to leave it alone and just answer her previous question. "Before I cast the curse, Rumpel mentioned that not everyone from this world would come with us. Those that were left behind were put in a.. stasis-like state. You'll find most of the animals that relied on humans for survival, ended up dying."

Emma could feel her mood going downhill at how thoughtless people tended to be when it came to animals. She was not fond of the change at all, but she couldn't ignore the hollow feeling suddenly barging it's way into her heart as she pictured all the animals dying of starvation.

_Jesus fucking Christ, I wanted a distraction not depression._

Regina sensed her distress, her thoughts following the same line of thinking as the blonde. She definitely would not miss the cats, but the horses were another matter entirely. While her childhood was far from pleasant, the days she could escape her mother and spend hours riding horses were some of her best memories. Those same memories instil her tone with hope as she tries to pull the blonde from her thoughts. "There may be some left, they'd likely be wild though."

"Don't tell me your royal highness isn't capable of taming a wild horse."

Regina scoffed. Of course she could tame a horse, but it would take far more time to do so, than it would for them to walk the distance. "Without magic, it would take too long."

"So..."

She frowns at the blonde, annoyed that she has to point out the problem with her magic once again. "I'm not going to inflict pain on an animal because you're adverse to exercise."

_I'd really like to know who told her dark magic hurt, sure it's hot- but it's hardly painful. A question for another time, maybe. _Emma forced her expression into one of seriousness and threw her best glare at the brunette. "Did you just call me lazy?"

Regina pretended to think about it for a moment before replying, a finger tapping her chin to complete the show. "Hmm. How often was it that I came to your office to remind you that you had paperwork due?" Smirking at the blonde's pout, she continued. "And rather than actually working, how long did you spend sitting in that chair playing paper toss?"

Emma raised a hand, halting the teasing with a look of complete dismay. She watched as the flash of concern passed through the brunette's eyes, a brow crinkled with worry. "Uh it was Trashcan Basketball, thank you very much." She grinned.

Hiding her smile with a skill born from practice as a Queen, then as a politician- Regina sniffed her distaste and waved a hand dismissively. "Tomayto, Tomahto" Surprising Emma as she reached over and pushed her.

The blonde narrowly avoided her legs tangling and toppling her to the side of the road. "Hey!" Her voice filled with shock and a little awe shattered Regina's façade and the brunette laughed a full, throaty laugh.

* * *

**Storybrooke, Maine.**

Having no idea whether Regina or Emma would contact them again, both Henry and Snow had developed a habit of checking the mirrors in the apartment whenever they found themselves walking past one.

After catching them both at one point or another staring at their reflections, David decided to put himself out of his misery and ask about it when they were seated around the table that night for dinner. "What is with you two and mirrors?"

Ignoring the warning look from his grandmother, words excitedly poured forth from Henry's mouth "Mum and Emma contacted us through the mirror from fairy tale land and grandma didn't want to tell you because she's in denial." He stuffs a forkful of pasta into his mouth before his eyes widen with the realization he'd left out his favourite part. "They also finally accepted that all their fighting was their way of hiding their true feelings for each other."

David let the words replay themselves over in his mind before he shook his head and started eating.

Unable to contain her frustration at her husbands lack of response to the news, Snow whines. "Well? Don't you have anything to say?"

David shrugs and looks at his grandson with a smile. "Good for them." If accepting his daughters happiness meant letting go of a decades old feud and sleeping on the couch for the next month, he would gladly do so.

* * *

**A/N2: So can I stay with Regina and Emma for a few chapters or am I going to be bombarded with PMs requesting more Charming or Henry? It's not all that difficult for me to include them, especially when I get to torment Snow by doing so, so I'm good if that's what ya'll want. I'm sorry if you like her by the way, but until they bring back the FTL Season One Badass Snow White, I think she's an irritating prat.**


	14. Betrayal?

Emma Swan wasn't one for paranoia, but she's pretty sure there is something out in the woods stalking them. They had settled down for the night, pitching their tent within a cluster of trees, a little outside the clearing they'd built their camp fire. Everything had been going perfectly fine, up until they decided it was time to go to sleep.

While Regina had no trouble at all getting comfortable and drifting off, Emma had spent the last hour trying to ignore the feeling of being watched. Part of her wanted to wake the brunette so they could go and have a look, another part of her wanted to stomp right out of the tent and demand whoever was out there to reveal themselves, but the biggest part of her wanted to hunker down into their sleeping bag and hide like a scared little girl.

So far, that last one was winning. If she was being paranoid, she would have woken Regina for nothing. If she wasn't, then leaving the tent to face a potential serial killer would probably be the dumbest and last mistake she'd ever make. That thought had her imagining the brunette travelling the realms in search of a way to bring her back to life, so she could kill her again.

Emma loathed making decisions, one would think someone known as The Saviour would be good at it, but she wasn't. So another half hour passed, her worry increasing ten-fold while an axe-wielding psychopath waited outside, fuelling her protectiveness, willing her to stick her head out of the tent so he could chop it off- at least, that's what she's been telling herself.

Unbeknownst to her, Regina had woken up a few minutes ago due to the blonde's endless fidgeting. She had no idea what Emma's problem was, so didn't realise that touching the woman would get the reaction it did.

Emma screamed. Not one of those pathetic squeaks you make when someone startles you out of a daydream. No, it was a full-blown, blood-curdling scream. Without thought, Regina cast a silencing spell, effectively cutting off the blonde mid-scream and preventing a loss of hearing.

"For fuck sakes, Emma." She flicks her wrist toward the lantern hanging above them, a small flame providing them with a dim light. Wide, green eyes stared at her, the blonde's chest heaving with the effort to regain control of herself. "What the hell was that about?"

Emma mumbles something and frowns, rolling her eyes with the realisation of how Regina had silenced her. Having enough control to summon her magic, she thinks about what she wants to say and hopes it works.

"_You scared the shit out of me and now __**you're **__yelling at __**me?**__" _She smiles as she catches the glimpse of surprise on Regina's face, not having expected Emma's voice inside her head.

"How did you do that?" Regina looks at her, her expression a mixture of disbelief and wonder.

"_Magic. You wanna undo this now or what?" _Immediately a tan hand reaches out and lightly trails fingertips down her neck, the familiar heat of Regina's magic flowing into her throat and returning her voice.

Licking away the dryness from her lips, Emma smiles when brown eyes dart upwards to track the motion.

Regina blushes and looks away. "You want to tell me why you screamed?"

"I uh.." She frowns, the reason for her panic seeming even more stupid than it had moments before. "I felt like someone was watching us all day, I couldn't sleep because of it." Emma chuckles softly and wipes a hand down her face before releasing a puff of air. "You scared me."

Regina smiles softly before the words actually register in her mind. "Wait.. You think someone's been watching us?" She frowns.

By the look of panic, Emma deduced Regina was probably thinking the same thing she had. The best case scenario, was that it had been nothing and she'd merely imagined it. While she would have loved optimism and perhaps a little naïvety in clinging to the unlikely option, she knew the worst case scenario was the more probable; Cora. Despite this, she remains hopeful as she tries to reassure her.. her what? girlfriend? "I'm sure it was nothing. Probably just the stress of this whole.. adventure and missing home. Let's just.. go to sleep."

* * *

Exiting the tent the next morning, Regina was confused. Emma was awake, that was evident by the fact she hadn't woken in the blonde's arms; she expected to find her outside, maybe cooking breakfast. Now that she'd stepped outside, she realised that wasn't the case.

Regina had awoken suddenly, a sense of urgency compelling her to leave the comfort of the oversized sleeping bag she'd conjured for them last night. At first, she assumed it was merely an after effect of a dream she couldn't remember, maybe she had tried to escape from.. something. As she laid there, the fogginess seeping from her mind and returning her fully to consciousness, the feeling wasn't going away.

Scrutinizing her surroundings, she found no trace or sign of a struggle, meaning Emma must have left of her own accord. "_You awake yet, Your Highness?" _ Frowning, Regina looked around once more. The voice had been that of the blondes, but she saw no one. "_Reeeegina." _The memory of last night flashed through her mind, Emma had spoken with her telepathically. _"Oh, I forgot you were surprised I could do this. Uh.. can't believe I'm about to give a magic lesson to the Evil Queen. Feel me, Regina. Just remember how my presence feels then... think what you want to say."_

As vague as the blondes so-called lesson was, Regina knew what she meant. Warmth spread throughout her being as she pictured her in her mind. The faint scent of vanilla and leather, piercing green eyes, beautiful golden curls, the overwhelming feel of safety and the familiar essence of Good she used to find repugnant, invading all her senses. "_Emma?_"

"_Nope, it's your Aunt Deloris."_

"_I don... Now isn't the time for your smart mouth, where the hell are you?"_

"_You know, I prefer the frisky morning version of you."_

"_Emma.." _The warning in her tone is clear.

"_I'll be back in a moment, but you can keep my new friend company... or perhaps it's your __**old **__friend." _A sudden flash of white smoke fills the space in front of her, a swathe of leather dropping with a solid thump to the ground, accompanied by a string of expletives.

Memories flooded her mind at the sound of the voice, the most prominent; a comment made by Rumpelstiltskin. _He betrayed you. _Her anger is almost instant, a scowl twisting her lips as vines swoop down from the treetops to weave their way around helpless limbs. "You."

"Hello love." His smile somewhat pained as thorns dug into his arms and legs.

xxx

_She moved away from him, turning and walking as she spoke. "There's one person I don't want following me to this new land, you're to see to it that doesn't happen."_

_His voice was confident, curious in its question. "An assassination, who is that you want me to dispose of?"_

_Turning, the Queen was hesitant, a brief flicker of pain in her eyes before she covered it with a sneer. "My mother."_

xxx

Shaking the memory from her mind, she snarled at him. "You sleazy little traitor."

"You wound me, Your Majesty."

"Not yet, I haven't."

Before she can decide exactly how she'd like to wound the pirate, a swirl of white smoke drifts toward her nose and she closes her eyes as she inhales deeply. She can feel a shift in the air, a warm body pressing up against her back. She supposes she should be startled, but that small wisp had invaded her senses, intoxicating with it's vanilla scent. Any doubt she may have held for who the body belonged to was erased the moment she heard her voice. "Your idea of decorating is revolting."

Taking the hands from her hips, she pulled Emma's arms around her waist and leaned back. Her heart skipping a beat when those same arms squeezed gently, an unspoken welcome. "Hmm you're absolutely right, should I burn it and start again?"

"Let's not be hasty, maybe it'd look better on the ground?" With that, Emma brushed her lips along Regina's ear. Her attention wavered further and the vines released their victim, she could feel the blonde wince as he hit the forest floor once more.

"Where did you find him?"

"Trees, the pervert was watching me while I bathed." Regina's anger reawakened and in the blink of an eye, a vine had wrapped itself around the man's throat and yanked him to his feet.

"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now?"

With every second, the vine tightened around the man's throat, ever so slowly cutting off his airway. Emma knew it was unlikely he'd be able to speak, unfortunately that fact seemed to escape Regina as she allowed her anger to control her. "Um Re..."

Regina raised her hand towards the blonde without taking her eyes off their captive, stepping away from Emma and stalking forward with intent. "Hush."

"You did not just.." Again she was interrupted.

"Yes I did, be quiet."

Emma's blood boiled at the blatant disregard Regina had for what she had to say. _How dare she. She's going to end up killing him and then probably turn around and blame me, like it's my fault she's incapable of being rational and not killing everyone she thinks has wronged her._ An unexpected stab of guilt echoed within her chest, bringing with it thoughts that dampened her own anger. _I have to calm her down.. distract her. I should be supporting her, not judging her_.

Emma quickly caught up to her and reached out, biting her lip nervously before clamping her hand down upon Regina's shoulder. "You are strangling him, even if he had a reason, he couldn't tell you." Her magic came unbidden to the tips of her fingers, pulsing into the flesh beneath her hand of it's own accord. The effect instant as the vine retreated and the man collapsed, his gasps filling the silence as he tried to drown his lungs with air.

* * *

"Hook betrayed me, Emma. He's the reason we have to be here in the first place. If he'd done what I asked him to, my mother would be dead and we wouldn't be risking our lives. We could be home, with your parents, your friends, with our son!" As she spoke, her voice increased in volume.

Emma allowed her to vent without interruption, simply holding the brunette close. She needn't worry about Hook, as she'd incapacited and tied him up outside before following Regina into their tent.

"I enchanted his stupid hook, all he had to do was take her heart!"

Emma frowned as she tried to make sense of the words. While she was slightly disturbed by the fact Regina had tried to have her own mother killed, it was the process that confused her. "Didn't Rump-a-Dump have her heart this entire time?"

Pulling back from their embrace, Regina frowned up at her but before the brunette could speak, Emma continued. "How could he have taken her heart, if she didn't have it?"

Perplexed. That was the only word that came to mind at the look on Regina's face and Emma couldn't help the laughter that bubbled forth.

"That.." Regina shook her head and grinned, the blondes laughter prevented the snarl that begged to be released as she realised she could no longer blame the pirate for their predicament. "That hadn't occurred to me."

* * *

**A/N: Is it obvious that I like Regina a bit too much? I couldn't bare to have her kill him, I love the idea that they share a brother/sister type bond. I do however, think he's an egotistical sleaze bag, so Emma will abuse him for me every so often.**

**Despite my having warned you already, I do apologise for the delayed update.. Writers block and life getting in the way and all. I won't make any promises for another update any time soon, but it will come when I have the time. I hope this wasn't too bad.**


	15. A Warning

**A/N: I hate putting these notes first, but I thought I should apologise now for the shortness of this chapter. I wanted to get it out of the way now since it didn't seem like a scene I could continue the story on from and I didn't want to skip it either. So, next chapter will push forward in time a little.**

* * *

They hadn't travelled very far by the time night fell. As Regina had been reluctant to use her magic since it had been returned to her, the drain from earlier that morning was more taxing than she had expected.

What length they had journeyed was mostly in silence, Emma had tried small talk, asking Regina about her reluctance. _Magic always comes with a price._ Since she had nothing else to occupy her time, she let the answer drift endlessly through her mind, bringing with it more questions than it did answers. Was it true? Or was it merely a superstition planted in the minds of magic users to weaken them? She hadn't experienced any price, at least not one she didn't consider worth it.

By the time they had set up camp, her curiosity had gotten the better of her and she approached the fire where Regina and Hook sat. As she took a seat beside the woman however, their captive chose his moment to speak.

"I never betrayed you, you know."

Whether or not anyone was paying attention to his words didn't seem to matter, he continued without a glance in either of their direction.

"I found her in Wonderland, like you said. The Queen of Hearts, sitting proudly atop her throne. I tried to trick her, flirted with her. Even got as far as sticking my hook into her chest, ready to take her heart. Imagine my surprise to find she didn't have one."

Emma knew Regina wouldn't speak, she could see the conflict warring behind brown eyes. The rigid posture as she sat by the fire, a sigh that would have gone unheard had Emma not been sitting so close to her.

Emma tentatively reached out and placed her hand upon the small of Regina's back, her thumb stroking gentle circles; unsure whether the gesture was support for the brunette or comfort for herself. She wanted to understand, even if Regina didn't. "So what? You couldn't kill her and decided to join her instead?"

"You think I had a choice? You think after trying to kill her she'd just let me go? It was a nice try, Killian; tell my daughter I send my love when you return. Run along now." He shook his head and muttered, "If I'm not submissive and useful, then I'm expendable." Whether to them or himself, Emma wasn't sure.

It was then that Regina allowed her thoughts to escape and be heard. "Then why are you here? Why are you not still with her?" Emma was sure she didn't imagine the sadness in the question, maybe a hint of disappointment. While she hadn't been all that interested in what the pirate had to say, it was becoming clear to her that there was more between these two than she had originally thought.

"I would have thought you figured that out by now. She sent me, to fetch you." He laughed then. "Fetch you! Like I'm some kind of dog; a stupid dog at that."

"Well it appears you've failed her, I shudder to think what she'll do to you upon your return."

Emma's look of disbelief didn't go unnoticed as he asked what they both were thinking. "You're letting me go?"

Regina shrugs indifferently, her voice now devoid of any previous emotion. "Why wouldn't I? I have magic, she has magic. You're no threat to either of us."

The truth of the comment hits him square in the chest and he laughs fully. "You have changed more than I thought. Were you the same woman from three decades ago, I would already be a pile of smoldering ash.. or my heart would be, at least."

There's a quietness that follows, one that would probably be deafening, were they not within a forest, surrounded by night life more than happy to fill the silence with their scuffling.

Regina got up and made her way over to their tent without a word, leaving the two of them behind without a thought. Emma could see that she was tired and probably wanted to be alone, but she had to make sure. _"Are you okay?"_

_"I would like some time to myself, if you don't mind."_

_"As you wish."_ Her reply was instantaneous, without hesitation and revealing nothing more than her understanding. They hadn't spent much time apart from one another since coming to this land. Now that she thought about it, even the time before coming through the portal, they'd spent an unusual amount of time in each other's company. They had even lived together after she fended off Storybrooke's citizens, the first few days were simply to keep the brunette safe. Then the magic lessons began, trips to the diner together with Henry, staying up until the early hours of the morning just talking. If there was one thing Emma could understand, it's the wish to have a little solitude now and then. She was happy to grant the small request, despite the slight pang in her chest.

With the quiet _"Thank you."_ from the brunette, Emma returned her attention to the man across from her, debated with herself of whether she really wanted an answer to the question being tossed around in her head. Even more unsure of which answer she found acceptable, she would definitely need to speak with Regina some time regarding their past together.

"You're not leaving, are you?"

His eyes met hers briefly before they lowered back to the fire that dwindled further as night fully settled upon the realm. "Would it be a problem if I said no?" She recognised the same sadness she'd heard earlier in Regina's tone, her curiosity about their relationship felt as though it was burning a hole into her brain.

Are they related? Were they friends? lovers? Is that why his so-called betrayal upset the former Queen?

She sighed and their eyes met once more, her expression serious, her tone laced with the promise of an unimaginable amount of pain should her response be ignored. "Only if you hurt her."

* * *

**Hope this was okay!**

**Edit: I wanted to answer that guest review regarding the italics in this chapter. If you've read Chapter 14, you'll see that Emma picked up a new skill, the italic speech you see in the story is.. for lack of a better word, telepathy. I thought it would help in separating actual vocalised speech and mind speech. I'm more than happy to change it if that's not the case, I can even go back and fix the previous chapters if anyone would like to suggest an alternative.**


	16. Meet the Saviour

**A/N: I just have to put this up here, I have no idea what the hell happened with this chapter. I want them to get along, but I think my first impression of him has clouded my muses judgement. I'll make it better.. somehow.. dangit.**

* * *

Emma hadn't been able to bring herself to question the relationship between Regina and Hook, the more time they'd spent together, she doubted more and more that the two had been anything more than friends. While her curiosity was still at its peak, the relief she felt as she watched their interactions forced it to the back of her mind.

At first, Hook had remained a somewhat flirty irritant. She'd lost count of the many come ons and pick up lines he threw her way, but when she realised it was simply his way, it became much easier to ignore him as she'd noticed Regina doing the same.

She hadn't spoken much to either of them, not that they had ignored her and hadn't tried to include her. She was tired, she missed home, she missed Henry; bizarrely, she even missed her overbearing mother and somewhat idiotic, but sweet father.

_"Are we there yet?"_

She really hadn't meant to send the thought through to Regina, but the oddly unladylike snort from in front let her know that she had. Lifting her gaze from the ground, she caught the amused glance Regina threw over her shoulder. "You sounded just like our son."

Emma shrugged. "Yeah, but he does it after five minutes of impatience, we've been walking forever."

A faint smile touched Regina's lips as her tone teased lightly. "You're not going to start chanting like he does, are you?"

A sly grin crossed Emma's lips as she moved to Regina's side and entwined their hands. "I wasn't planning to, but since you've given me the idea..."

Regina narrowed her eyes, but the unspoken warning was offset by the thinly veiled smile twitching at the corners of her mouth as she tried to suppress it. Emma simply raised her eyebrow, not even feigning concern for her own well-being, merely waiting for the smile to win over the brunette. When it did, Regina sighed and rolled her eyes. "We're close, you can refrain from turning into a child.." She paused in thought before amending. "Even more of a child."

It was Emma's turn to roll her eyes, unable to stop the chuckle from spilling past her lips. Not knowing what they'd face when they returned home, she supposed their time in this world wasn't too unbearable; as long as they were together.

* * *

After another hour or so of walking, Emma was beginning to think Regina may have lied to her. When she'd said they were nearly there, she realised the way the brunette estimated distance was likely similar to the way she measured time. One of those women things she wasn't all that familiar with, where five minutes ended up being half an hour.

As she pondered whether to ask once more, a voice intruded upon her thoughts. "So Emma.."

"Hook." It was a simple acknowledgement, still not entirely comfortable with the extra presence. Not that she thought anyone could blame her, he had been friends with the Evil Queen.

_Yeah, the same woman you're in love with, shame on him._

"You don't like me, do you?" It didn't sound like he cared one way or the other.

_Not particularly._

Deciding she wasn't in the mood for that type of conversation, she pushed the thought to the back of her mind and attempted as neutral a response as possible, while still maintaining her usual dismissive, though sometimes humorous attitude. "I don't like many people, don't take it personally."

Assuming that to be the end of the conversation, she was surprised when he continued. "Regina tells me you're not very fond of the crocodile either."

Due to her confusion, she gave up hope of ending the conversation before it began. "Uh.. crocodile?"

"Rumpelstiltskin?" He made it sound as though it should be obvious who he was referring to, had Regina not told him who she was?

"Oh, right. Yeah, he's a bit of a tool."

Before Hook could respond, the husky monotone of Regina's voice intruded upon their discussion. "Gold is to Hook, as Snow is to the Evil Queen."

"So what? You saved him, he betrayed you, had your true love killed by your mother?"

A strangled gasp forced her attention from the pirate as she curiously eyed the brunette. "How do you know that?"

_I dreamt about it._

Yet another conversation she didn't want to be having at the moment. Puffing her cheeks, she released a lungful of air and half-heartedly responded. "You told me?"

The mask she hadn't seen in awhile was back, carefully constructed and taking back it's place upon the brunette's face. "I did no such thing."

"Ah well, lucky guess then." Sighing, she shrugged and ignored the glare thrown her way, turning back to Hook; because having this conversation with him was more preferable than the one she'd no doubt be forced to have with Regina, sooner rather than later. "So? Is that what happened?"

"Close. His wife ran away with me, he found us, took out her heart and crushed it after cutting off my hand."

The second the word 'wife' slipped from his lips, an angered fog encompassed her mind. As he finished summarizing, she managed to shake the self-righteous retort on the tip of her tongue, clenching her jaw somewhat painfully as she gritted out a response. "Well that's lovely."

"Lovely?"

He should have left it alone, already she realised this wasn't as preferable as she'd thought. She knew she had to reply, knew what was going to come out of her mouth before it had, yet she was unable to stop it. "I'm sorry, did you want sympathy or something? It's hard to feel anything for an adulterer and her booty lovin' boy toy."

She saw the flash of anger before he lunged at her, thankfully the little spark had been enough to warn her and her magic flared to life before she tossed him to the side of the road with a wave of her hand. "Well that wasn't very nice." A seemingly invisible hand grasped the collar of his jacket and yanked him to his feet.

Quickly making up the distance between them, Emma came to stand in front of him, barely an inch between them as she snarled. "While neither of them deserved to die for their actions, don't try to compare your unfaithful harlot to that of an innocent boy. Nor the cruel, hateful actions of a heartless mother, to the angered revenge of a husband. What happened to you and what happened to Regina are two completely different things, she didn't deserve her pain." Just as unexpectedly as her anger appeared, it had disappeared again.

Shocked by her own words and the hateful way she'd uttered them, she turned abruptly and stalked off down the road. Had she glanced back even once, she'd have noticed tears gathering in the eyes of the woman she loved, Regina's mask having crumbled the moment her speech had begun.

* * *

**A/N2: So.. sorry.. or not sorry, depending on your thoughts of this chapter. I feel ridiculously bad about it either way, if it makes any of you feel better. I feel like this journey is a bit drawn out, considering all the things they have to do after reaching Rump-a-dumps castle. I think I'll fix that next chapter, unless my muse decides to wander off from my intentions again.**


	17. Good and Evil

In the throes of sleep, Emma's hand clawed desperately at her chest as visions assaulted her mind.

* * *

_Left alone with her pain, tears of explicable sadness flowed freely from chocolate orbs. Regina kneeled on the hay strewn floor of the stables, clinging to the lifeless body of the one she believed to be her True Love, her end to a life of misery and constant disappointment._

_Her happiness, stolen in the blink of an eye when she allowed her naïvety and ignorance trick her into trusting a mother she had believed, deep down, loved her on some level. A mother who claimed to know what was best, to want what was right for her daughter._

* * *

Unknowingly, Emma shed silent tears of her own as she slept. For a week now, Emma had suffered this exact dream each night, her body reacting the same way each time. Every morning, she awoke before Regina and quietly slipped from the tent they shared. She had at least an hour before Regina followed, in which she would bathe and prepare for the day's journey, doing her best to hide the distress the dreams buried within her heart. She had been a fool to think she could continue doing so, routines never last, secrets never stayed secret. The end to her hidden nightmares came that morning in the form of a soft whisper against her ear, a concerned yet comforting husk that ripped into her subconscious and tore her from sleep. "Emma, wake up."

Gasping, she bolted upright and clung to the form in her arms as a strangled sob fell from her lips. For a moment, she panicked, her eyes unfocused as her mind tried to grasp what was happening. When Regina shifted uncomfortably in her arms, Emma's eyes were drawn down and she inwardly cringed at how similar the position was to that of Regina and the Stable Boy from her dream. Yet despite the image burned into her brain, her arms tightened their hold as she buried her face in the crook of Regina's neck and continued to cry through the pain she had been forced to share with the woman she loved.

Whether it was minutes or hours later, neither of them knew. When Emma raised her head and their eyes connected, Regina could plainly see the anguished horror reflected within emerald depths. She reached up and cupped a pale cheek, her thumb caressing over tear tracks that stained the skin. Her voice was tender when she spoke, soft, infused with a calmness she didn't feel. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Emma took a deep, shuddered breath and pulled away from the comforting warmth of Regina's hand, allowing the brunette to rearrange herself so that she sat in front of the blonde. Emma had imagined this scenario countless times throughout the week, yet still the words escaped her. "I.." Closing her eyes, she shook her head. "I don't know how."

There was a brief second where Regina paused, seeming to study Emma's features before she spoke. "I assume it was a nightmare."

"A memory, I think." Emma nodded, waiting for the inevitable question.

Knowing Regina, knowing the brunette's curiosity rivaled her own; she knew she wouldn't have to wait long. "What kind of memory?"

Emma focused her attention on some distant spot, unable to look into the eyes of woman she loved for fear of seeing something in them that might make her regret what she was about to admit. "A bad one, a really bad one."

"Something in your past?"

It occurred to Emma that drawing the conversation out wasn't going to make it any easier, every response that came to her mind was immediately dismissed upon the realisation. She needed this to be put behind them as quickly as possible, so she simply said what needed to be said. "Your past, your memory; not mine."

"You're.. dreaming of my past?" The disbelieving tone forced her gaze back to Regina and while the expression on her face was wary, Emma could see the glimmer within chocolate orbs which signaled that curiosity she knew she'd find.

Emma watched as the wheels turned in Regina's head, various emotions flitting across her face as she tried to find whatever words she searched for. A few minutes passed before she tried to speak, her voice betraying her feelings as it shook. "Is.. have you.."

"There are others."

Regina's mind flashed with images of her dreams over the week, a vicious knot twisted her stomach at the thought of Emma experiencing all the horrors she had somehow survived when her life hadn't been her own. "Your grandfather..."

Emma's expression contorted into a scowl as she snarled. "That slimy, bastard excuse for a man is no relation of mine. If he wasn't already dead, I would've gladly ripped out his throat after I'd cut off his dick and made him eat it." A brief jolt of pleasure shot through her when Regina blanched at the graphic comment. For some reason, being able to shock the Evil Queen filled her with a sense of pride.

"Y-you don't mean that, Emma." Regina swallowed the lump in her throat, squeezing the blonde's hands in her own. "These dreams, the darkness that tainted me, it's not yours to share. Don't let them change you, don't become what I've been trying to fight against for Henry.. for you."

Listening to Regina plead with her seemed to lift some sort of weight, her words freeing Emma from a burden she'd unknowingly shouldered. A voice screamed at her from inside her head, demanding she hold on to that anger, but it had been weak and so very faint that it was almost impossible to not ignore it.

Relief flowed through her very veins and she tried to grasp at it, as if she could catch it, examine it, study the reason behind it. She was confused, but there was a sense of feathery lightness as that burden vanished completely. There must have been a visual effect she couldn't see for herself, because Regina was suddenly a little too close, pressing their foreheads together as a small smile flitted along her lips. "There you are."

Emma struggled for the words, a question that would be met with an explanation for what she was feeling. Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly before a single word managed it's way past her lips. "Why.."

Regina immediately understood though, supplying an answer as best she could. "That anger and hate you feel, they don't fuel you. Your magic is intricately tied to your emotions and while it may not be purely white magic, that darkness doesn't belong to you, so giving in to it weighs heavily on you."

There were stories she'd heard when she was younger, about the power of True Love. It was said that when two magic users share such a bond, not only were their souls united for eternity, but so was their magic. True Love was rare enough as it is, finding one side of the pair with magic was a challenge, but both of them was almost unheard of.

Before she could recall the exact tale, Emma's voice broke through her reverie. "What do you mean it doesn't belong to me?"

"Your need, your desire to protect me allows you to feed off of my emotions. Your magic may not be as light as I had first assumed, but it's certainly not dark." While it wasn't entirely true, Emma had yet to express anything beyond a.. care for her, so Regina avoided any mention of True Love.

Seeing the mildly confused expression overcoming the blonde, Regina elaborated. "Your emotions fuel your magic, so things like anger and hate as a result of my fear, may have an.. undesirable effect on you because you're not dark."

"Did you ever feel like that?"

At any other time, Regina would have dismissed the question. She loathed to remember the days where she wasn't the woman everyone claimed her to be, having given up hope of ever returning to such a time. However, the small child-like way Emma had sounded when asking, Regina realised she would do anything, share anything, to never hear the blonde sound that way again. So rather than avoid, she opted to answer as truthfully as she could. "For awhile. By now you know I wasn't always Evil, but once I was.. once I embraced it, it became weightless, freeing."

Sighing, Regina tangled her fingers in blonde curls and pulled their lips together in a short but sweet kiss. "Pay attention to what you're feeling, use that brain like I know you can. If it feels wrong, then it probably is." With one more kiss, she stood and pulled Emma to her feet. "We can talk about this more some other time, for now we have somewhere to be."

* * *

Upon leaving their tent, they had expected to find Hook waiting for them, a questioning glance from Regina and Emma knew she wasn't the only one disturbed by the pirate's absence.

"You don't think he.." Emma started, only to be cut off by a rustling nearby, followed seconds later by a cheerful looking Hook as he emerged from the forest, a boar draped haphazardly across his shoulders.

"Good morning, loves."

The two women looked at each other again, the same confused expression on each others face. Neither of them having spoken to him after the events of the day before, it was unsettling for them both that he didn't seem upset.

With an uncharacteristic shrug of her shoulders, Regina began collecting their gear together, completely disappearing their tents with a wave of her hand, along with all the unnecessary items that seemed to clutter their space every night. As she did this, Emma hesitantly approached Hook and offered her help with breakfast.

"I don't imagine you've skinned many animals." A statement, more than a question, but when he looked up, she shook her head. Without another word, he went back to preparing their meal, while she went about providing the coffee via magic that she knew Regina would appreciate.

As the tension between them thickened, Emma's flight reflex had almost convinced her to flee before being shut down by a clearing of his throat. "I didn't like what you said, but Regina had warned me."

While she eyed him warily, it was obvious he had more to say; so she waited.

"You're protective of her, perhaps that means you're biased when it comes to other people, their stories, their feelings; who knows?" Her eyes dropped to the carcass at his feet and she felt the nausea building as she watched him scoop the innards from within, her face becoming more pale than usual.

When he noticed, he stopped talking until her attention returned to him. "You should look away, it doesn't get any cleaner than this." He chuckled as her cheeks blushed before he continued. "There was some truth to what you said, her and I.. we're from different worlds, different times, our experiences.. they're not the same. The pain though, that's real. Deserved or not, the pain is there and we are the ones that have to live with it."

Arranging more than enough slices of meat along the rocks surrounding their campfire, he took a seat next to her. "Regina and I, we're kindred spirits. Our experiences may not be the same, but they have had the same effect. If you think your mother remains alive because of some misguided thought that Regina has changed, you're wrong."

Genuinely curious, she recalled Regina's words from earlier and managed to temper the anger slowly bubbling beneath the surface. Offering nothing more than a simple, "Oh?" she waited once more for him to continue.

"You and that boy of yours. You both have taken her pain and made life more bearable for her. She has someone, someone who loves her, someone who wants the best for her. She hasn't changed, it's her experiences that have."

Her brow furrowed as she let the words roll around in her mind, trying and failing to find the connection. "What does that have to do with you?"

"My pain and my need to skin the crocodile, it's all I have. No one cares what happens to me, no one cares if I'm happy. We both want what everyone else wants; someone to share with, someone to love and when we don't have those? We rely on our pain, our loneliness and it causes us to do bad things." It was hard to disagree with him when he sounded so genuine; like he believed what he was saying. "Good and Evil don't exist, they're inventions used to divide people, from those who make the right decisions, to those who make the wrong ones." Whether or not she agreed with him, which she did, the conviction with which he spoke was... inspiring.

* * *

**A/N: So I had this chapter thought out like.. a week before I posted the last, but then after posting 16, I got a couple messages wanting a reaction from Hook (Did I do good?) but since it wouldn't have been long enough, I decided to explain that 'dream' comment with the first part as well. So if you were looking forward to the whole "Yay, we're at the castle." chapter like I wanted, I apologise and totally promise it's next chapter; which should appear sooner than usual, assuming nothing crops up in real life.**


	18. Halfway Home

**I had nothing to do today. How's that for keeping a promise? You're welcome!**

* * *

It was some time around noon the next day that they reached their destination. While Emma and Regina weren't in any hurry, Hook offered to search through the castle for their little box and swore upon pain of death (Regina's pain, to be exact) that there was absolutely no chance he'd dare betray them, especially considering his alternative was Cora. With or without a heart, he didn't think the woman was all that fond of him.

While he knew neither Emma nor Regina trusted him, after the threat they seemed more than happy to acquiesce to his suggestion. _Probably so they could have some time to themselves for a while._ Not that he blamed them, he had after all intruded on their little bubble of contentment when he went in search of Regina for her mother. He had never intended to follow through with that little plan, a choice between the Queen of Hearts who had no heart of her own, or the daughter that had fallen in love and had spent the past three decades with his enemy, the woman who is only here because she chose to be and has a perfectly practical way to return to the other world? The decision practically made itself.

So yes, they had no reason to trust him and while he had every intention of using them, he wouldn't betray them. He was tired of the way Cora treated him and would honestly die to protect them, if it meant not having to return to her; as long as he extracted a promise from one of them to skin that god forsaken crocodile before his last breath, of course.

For now, he busied himself with the search for that damned box.

* * *

"So this is where Rump-a-Dump lived, huh." Emma strutted around the foyer, taking in the details. She wasn't entirely sure what she had expected, but she did think that someone dubbed 'the Dark One' who gave off the seriously creepy vibes that Gold does, would live somewhere a little less grand and a little more dark, dank and cave-ish.

"Disappointed?" Having been here countless times, Regina merely stood there and observed the blonde with a somewhat amused expression.

Emma paused in her scrutiny to glance at the brunette. "Sort of." She smiled when Regina raised an eyebrow, the question in brown eyes crystal clear to her. "I was expecting less, yet more at the same time. He's this all-powerful guy, somewhat of a God even." She gestures around the room. "This is a great place, I'm sure.. but it's more suited for a King and Queen."

Regina pursed her lips in thought as she briefly took in their surroundings, noting the warm; almost cheerful colours of the room. While it was nothing like her own castle, it did somewhat resemble the home of Snow White and Prince Charming. "Now that you mention it, it has always made me somewhat nauseated."

Positions swapped, it was Emma who now wore a curious expression as Regina stepped past her. She quietly watched as the former Queen swiped the tip of her finger across the dusty surface of a painting depicting that of an unusually beautiful woman. "This was never the home of Rumpelstiltskin, or the Dark One." Taking a step back, Regina examined the painting in front of her, easily recalling the first time she'd met the woman within and reminding herself that said woman still remained locked away in Storybrooke's asylum. _I really should release the girl now that the curse has broken._ "This castle belongs to the Beast."

"The.. beast? You mean as in..."

"Beauty and the Beast, yes."

"Wait.. how many people is this guy?"

"Gold, Rumpel, the Beast, the Dark One.. those are only the ones I know of. If we take into account all your worlds fairy tales, there are many more personalities a man such as Rumpel could and likely does fulfill."

"Huh." Emma was about to drop the subject but before she could, she was hit with a thought. "Wait.. Are you another fairytale character? Maleficent, perhaps?"

"Maleficent is actually a friend and no, I don't believe your world is familiar with any other persona of mine.

_Although.._

xxx

_Not by the hairs of our chinny chin chin!_

xxx

Inwardly, Regina scoffed at the silly little rhyme and shook her head. Not only had the story been wrong, but she'd hardly been the crazed dog they made her seem. There were no animals, they were perfectly human women. Similar in a way, to Emma herself. _Blonde, lean, gorgeous._ Now that she thought about it, there had been an awful lot of squealing on their part, and growling on her own. Of course, a children's story about three little pigs and a big bad wolf is far more suitable than a story about triplets and a big, bad, drunken and ridiculously horny Queen.

Blinking, Regina returned to the present to find emerald eyes gazing at her from across the room. A slight shake to the blonde's shoulders as Emma tried to suppress her laughter, caused a flush of embarrassment to spread throughout Regina.

_Oh no._

Emma grinned and moved forward, closing the distance between them. As her arms wound their way around Regina's waist, Emma leaned forward and husked in her ear. "Oh yes."

* * *

"I hate to interrupt such a beautiful moment." Emma and Regina made no move to break apart, but their heads turned at the sound of Hooks voice, an eerily similar glare plastered across both their face.

Staying put, he threw up his hands in surrender. Having been on the receiving end of both their magic once already, he wasn't in the mood to a repeat experience. "Really, it pained me to do so. It is also unfortunate that I must be the one to tell you that there doesn't seem to be any special boxes around here."

Rolling her eyes, Emma moved from Regina's embrace. Snapping her fingers, a small hand mirror appeared in a puff of smoke, which she then passed to Regina. "You contact Rump-a-Dump, I want to take a look around." Turning to Hook, she pointed a finger in warning at him. "Anything happens to her.."

Hands still out in front of him, Hook's second interruption was a lot less hesitant than the first. "No need for threats, love. No harm will come to her on my account."

Waiting until blonde curls disappeared around the corner, Hook turned to Regina. "Feisty, that one."

Smirking, Regina replied. "You have no idea."

"I would ask, but I know what a tease you are." The truth of the comment was confirmed as Regina chuckled her agreement.

Glancing down at the mirror Emma had given her, Regina let it hover over her palm for a moment before tossing it toward the wall. With practiced ease, she stopped it before impact with a wave of her hand and with nothing more than a thought, the mirror transformed, expanding and molding itself to the wall. Once it was complete, she caught Hook's puzzled expression which prompted her to communicate her thought. "I liked admiring his discomfort the last time we spoke. I suspect a lot of that was due to Emma, but I think seeing you will offer an adequate alternative. Join me?"

Thrilled with the prospect of annoying the crocodile, Hook moved to her side and grinned widely. "Gladly."

As it was nearing evening in the Enchanted Forest, Regina calculated the time difference and concluded it were roughly mid morning in Storybrooke. While not too early for some, the likelihood of Gold being in his shop already wasn't very high, so she focused on finding him at home.

It was odd, to see the usually intimidating man clad in nothing more than a towel as he emerged from his bathroom. She was right, however, in assuming she'd be entertained by his reaction to Hook as Rumpel's head snapped up at the full belly laugh from the pirate. Even if she had wanted to, she couldn't hide the amusement from showing on her face as she watched his own expression transform from surprise, to embarrassment and finally settling on irritation.

Without a word, he disappeared from view and returned a few minutes later. Fully clothed, his face was now void of any and all emotion as he studied the both of them. "Well now, to what do I owe this unpleasant surprise?"

"We've made it to your lovely home, Rumpel."

"I can see that, however it does little to answer my question."

Regina rolled her eyes and snarked at him. "Did you expect us to spend hours scouring the castle for your stupid little box? Where is it?"

"Ah, I forgot I hadn't given you that minor tidbit of information. Before I do, I would like a question of my own answered." He looked smug as his eyes narrowed in on Hook.

"Out with it." she growled.

"Does the dashing Captain still have his heart?"

Not even thinking it through, Regina turned and reached into Hook, smoothly plucking his heart from his chest and displaying it for all those present. "Does that answer your question, Imp?" The glee that momentarily shone in his eyes was immediately extinguished when she returned the heart with the same haste and efficiency with which she'd taken it.

It felt good, how little she had to resist doing the wrong thing by turning the pirate into a helpless puppet. Feeling the heart in her hand hadn't invoked the kind of pleasure she previously felt when faced with the possibility of controlling someone, not that she'd be sharing that information with either of those two.

_He's just like mother, thinking it would take something as insignificant as power to undo everything I've endured fighting against their corrupting influence. I have everything I want and they have nothing, screw their idea of power._ She could feel her heart warm with the thought, as though it were agreeing with her. "If we're done, let's return to my question and forget your pathetic attempt to manipulate me."

_"Found it."_

Frowning, Regina titled her head and ignored the man in the mirror. _"Emma?"_

_"Yeah, I found the box.. heart and all. You can forget about Rump-a-dump."_

Sighing, she looked at Hook and motioned toward the mirror. "Emma has found it, do something about that would you?" Nudging the pirates imagination along, she conjured a hammer in his good hand; an apology for her actions implied within the gesture.

Grinning, Hook raised the hammer and eyed the mirror. With a nod of acceptance for Regina and an appreciative, "With great pleasure." for himself; he swung toward the glass, shattering the stunned image of Rumpelstiltskin into thousands of tiny pieces.

After an enthusiastic few minutes of stomping the shards into a fine dust, Hook remained grinning as he composed himself. "You're forgiven."

A faint smile curled her lips as she nodded her acknowledgement, anything she may have said remained unspoken as Emma stomped her way back into the foyer, covered in dust and cobwebs.

Regina raised an eyebrow as her eyes travelled the form of the blonde, her smile changing to a grin that matched Hooks. "Have fun?"

Huffing, Emma rolled her eyes at them. "I've walked, hunched and crawled my way through enough secret passages to last a life time."

* * *

**A/N: Readers choice for the next chapter. They can either spend the night in the castle (may include smut, that depends on my muse) or we can continue the journey. They will spend the night either way, but I won't bother with any details if you'd prefer they continue on their way. Let me know, PM or Review, I don't mind which.**


	19. Indulging the Queen

**Quick note: Please for the love of everything that is evil and gorgeous (Yes, I mean Regina) do _not_ get used to these quick updates, right now I'm bored and have literally _nothing _to do. The 20th may be quick, depending on the weekend, but I'm not promising anything.**

**Rated: MM because #Porn.**

* * *

Handing the box to Regina, Emma announced her intention to spend the night and left them both downstairs to search the second floor for a bathroom. After more than a week of trampling through the forest and only being able to wash in cold streams, she was looking forward to a decent bath.

It was the third room she came across, that she finally found what she considered an adequately suitable bathing area. By that, she meant a room with a tub that could fit an entire harem within, were she a Princess (which she was) that desired such a thing (not so much). Eyeing the bucket she assumed was used to fill it, she smirked and waved a hand through the air; filling the bath with steaming hot, vanilla-scented water before stripping down.

Leaning back against the tub, Emma's moans filled the room as water caressed every inch of skin it could find. If anyone asked, this is what she'd tell them she missed most; the simple act of relaxing and soaking the day from her tired muscles. Unless of course the person asking was Henry, her answer would be him; because what kind of mother would she be if she admitted missing a nice, relaxing soak more than her own son.

As the steam rose up to envelop the room and lulled her into a light doze, it took her mind a moment to take note of another's presence, but it was the rustle of clothes that drew her eyes open.

Emma bit her lip as her gaze was met by a tanned, toned stomach that seemed to stretch for miles, her eyes drifted appreciatively up toward nipples that stood erect, proudly adorning the most perfectly shaped breasts she'd ever had the pleasure of viewing.

Her core clenched with need as images swam through her mind, images of what she had already been privileged to bestow upon the woman standing gloriously naked before her. Swallowing the overwhelming urge to leap from the bath and ravage Regina right there on the bathroom floor, she flicked her gaze up further and latched on to the almost black, desire filled eyes of the brunette.

Regina licked her lips as her body vibrated with the tension flowing between them, forcing herself still as Emma examined all that she offered. Her stomach constricted almost painfully when green eyes stared longingly, hungrily at her chest, pupils dilating with each passing second. When those eyes finally met her own, she moved forward.

Regina resisted throwing herself at Emma as she climbed into the bath.

While Emma struggled with her own desire to impatiently tug Regina down on top of her.

They both moaned their pleasure aloud when after, what felt like hours of torture, Regina settled between Emma's legs, their skin coming alive as their bodies connected. With Emma's breasts pressing deliciously against her back and the hands that rested oh so close to where she wanted them, Regina no longer resisted and dragged her fingernails down pale inner thighs.

Emma's hands slid upwards and captured breasts with warm, wet palms. Her fingers teased, pinched and pulled at Regina's nipples in retaliation. Regina whimpered, arching her back, welcoming the attention as heat pooled within her stomach. Wetness flooded between her thighs when a hot mouth fastened itself against her neck, a soft tongue dancing across her pulse point, toying, tasting, savouring. She wanted more, needed more. More pleasure, more Emma.

_More more more._

"Emma." Her tone was pleading, knowing it to be the most effective way to make Emma give her all that she desired, all she needed and what her body demanded. She didn't care that it was selfish, as long as she was filled and taken to that place that only Emma had ever reached. Where pleasure was all that she knew, where her mind was silenced and her body thrummed with blissful satisfaction.

The sound of her name filled with such pure, unadulterated need caused Emma's sex to throb in sympathy. She released a breast, freeing a hand to descend between Regina's legs and cup her mound as a digit slipped between wet, swollen folds. Slowly, she stroked Regina's slit, shallowly dipping inside her on each downward caress before retreating to circle a hard nub.

Regina's hips bucked forward of their own accord on one such caress, forcing Emma inside. Muscles greedily tried to grip the finger as it was pulled out, only to relax as it re-entered, deeper, harder with each thrust. It wasn't enough, never enough. "More." Half moan, half command.

Emma complied, adding a second finger and picking up the pace, she aggressively pounded into Regina. Her mouth ripped away from Regina's neck as she threw her head back; a long, drawn out moan escaping her lips as a particularly violent thrust from Regina's hips forced the brunette's backside to slam hard against Emma's sex.

Regina was in heaven, every sense overwhelmed with Emma. She could smell her in the air, hear her moans, her grunts, the way she hissed when her fingers penetrated impossibly deeper. Despite the fact they hadn't even kissed, she could taste her on her tongue. If she opened her eyes at the right time, she could glimpse the familiar glow of Emma's magic between her legs, entering her, filling her and she fucking loved it.

The hand that had possessively clutched Regina's breast dropped to join the other, a finger sliding beneath a palm to stroke her clit. As Regina teetered on the edge of orgasm, Emma's voice cut through her haze. "Cum for me." There was no graceful fall over the edge, she was pushed headlong into the beautiful abyss; her body arched and tensed momentarily before release, coating Emma's fingers and palm with her reward.

* * *

Once they were dressed, they made their way downstairs and into the dining hall where they found Hook looking over some maps. Upon their arrival, he raised his head and flashed them a knowingly smile.

Emma's stomach growled before any of them spoke, prompting a chuckle from the pirate and an understanding squeeze of her hand from Regina. "Lasagna? Tacos?"

Amused with the baffled look on Hook's face, Emma smiled and pecked Regina on the cheek before releasing her hand and taking a seat at the table across from Hook. "Pizza?" Hopeful that Regina wouldn't start lecturing her about junk food.

Hook continued to look confused as he asked, "You two learn another language while you were upstairs?" which caused them both to laugh.

While Regina considered the request, Emma explained the different foods to him. She was in the middle of describing burgers when Regina interrupted them. "You can have pizza, if I can add vegetables." Knowing Emma wouldn't agree to a salad, this was her compromise.

It was Hook who answered. "Why does she have to agree to that? Can't she magic what she wants?"

Smirking when Emma mumbled, Regina shook her head. "She can only conjure it, if she knows how to make it." Sitting beside the blonde, she reaches up and tugs affectionately at a stray curl. "She's a terrible cook, unless it involves breakfast foods."

Regina conjured a platter for their dinner and placed it on the table before them, magic poured from her fingertips and into the dish, summoning forth an impossibly large pizza, filled to the brim with toppings.

Hook practically drooled his appreciation, while Emma closed her eyes and inhaled the smells that wafted up to her nostrils. Releasing a content sigh, Emma was reaching for a slice when a thought escaped her lips. "God I love you." Her hand immediately froze and she slowly turned to Regina.

As the silence stretched between them, Hook looked from Regina to Emma and the pieces suddenly clicked together inside his head. "Oh.. I'm interrupting a moment, aren't I? I saw some uh.. wine.. lots of wine, be right back." If either of them were paying attention to anything other than each other, they probably would have laughed at how fast he left the room.

Regina's voice trembled when she sought her confirmation. "Do you? Really?"

It wasn't how Emma wanted to say it, but she wasn't about to take back the words and possibly break the woman's heart, especially not when she'd meant them. So she slipped from the chair to kneel before Regina, clasping their hands together. "Yes really." Smiling into those adoring, chocolate eyes, Emma said the words again. "I love you, Regina."

Regina's heart swelled beyond measure and she let out a choked laugh as tears of joy slipped down her cheeks. "Only you would accidentally declare your love for someone over food."

Emma grinned and raised a hand to brush away the fallen tears, slipping the hand around Regina's neck, she pulled her close enough to capture her lips in a long, loving kiss. "What can I say? I'm a romantic."

xxx

Emma had sat back in her seat and they were both laughing by the time Hook returned. Noting the lack of anything in his hands, Emma smirked and raised her eyebrow. "Where's the wine?"

Hook blinked at her, shrugging before he grabbed a slice of pizza. "No idea what you're talking about."

"Uh huh."

As they finished the last of their food, Emma recalled what he'd been doing when they first came downstairs. "So, what's with the maps?"

"I was trying to find where we are." At the suspicious look from both Emma and Regina, he shook his head at their mistrust. "I assumed you'd want to know where Cora is, I can't help you if I don't know where we're travelling from."

Emma rubbed her neck sheepishly. It was still difficult for her to trust anyone, but she had started to think that maybe they were overdoing the caution a little when it came to Hook. "Sorry, I'm sure Regina can point you to where we are."

Nodding, Regina stood from where she sat and moved to Hook's side. Placing a hand on the back of his chair, she leaned forward and studied the maps in front of them. Barely a minute had passed when she pointed at an area to the west. "This is where my castle resides, following the route we took, we travelled southeast through the forest and came out..." She tapped a grayed out area of the map. "Here. His castle isn't actually on any maps, because anyone who managed to get close enough ended up dead. But, if we follow the path down to the outer limits of his castle, we'll come to this road here to the north."

"Alright, so starting from there, we'll need to travel north, northeast to the Settlement. It's quite a long way from here, especially if we're going to continue walking."

Pursing her lips, Regina glanced at Emma as she groaned at the idea of even more walking before returning her attention to Hook. "How long?"

"When Cora sent me to look for the two of you, she transported me to the edge of this village here. Wysett, I believe it's called. It only took me half a day to find you, but it's about three days walk from there. So a week, at least."

"Hold up!" Emma sat up in her chair. "If she transported you to.. whatever that village was called. Couldn't we do the same thing?"

"In theory.." Regina began, only to be interrupted by the blonde.

"No, no theories. If Cora can do it, so can we."

Sighing, Regina once more pointed out the problem with yet another of Emma's plans. "Emma, it would involve a significant amount of my magic to travel that kind of distance and you'd both be in pain during it."

Hook frowned at them both. "Why? It didn't hurt when Cora transported me." At Regina's disbelieving look, he raised his eyebrow. "What? It didn't. I mean it felt a little cold, but I think that's just the feel of her magic. I always get goosebumps when she uses it, that and I have to spend the next hour smelling burning wood.

"Mmm. Regina's feels a little like taking a shot of whiskey, the way it burns you from the inside, but in a good way." Emma's been trying to find the right time to talk to Regina about her magic and how it doesn't actually hurt like she seems to think. This seemed as good a time as any. "It smells like..."

She smiles as Hook finishes the sentence for her "Apples and cinnamon." and laughs when Hook proceeds to tease Regina. "Worst Evil Queen I've ever met, to be honest. Shouldn't it smell like.. I dunno, death and decay or something? I'm surprised butterflies don't sprout from her fingers."

A flash of anger overcomes Regina, but it's quickly dismissed at the sound of Emma's laughter. "Keep it up and I'll strangle you both with my gay magic." Regina and Hook both join in as another fit of laughter erupts from the blonde.

* * *

When they finally retired to their rooms for the night, Emma was shocked to find herself slammed up against the door after she'd closed it. Her attempt to question the brunette was cut off by a tongue invading her mouth, a moan coaxed from within as a hand forced its way down her pants and palmed her sex.

Regina had no idea what had come over her, but as the night replayed itself in her head, she found herself wanting to touch Emma. Unsure if it was their time in the bath, hearing the blonde confess her love or the teasing nearing the end, Regina decided not to bother analyzing it and simply went with her instincts. Which is why she now had a hand down Emma's pants and an increasing distaste for clothing.

Emma was further shocked and a little irritated when the hand disappeared, along with the mouth. However when she went to speak again, she found herself unable as Regina grabbed her by the collar and pulled her towards the bed. With a wave of Regina's hand, they were both naked and with a forceful push against her chest, she fell backwards and bounced lightly when her back hit the mattress.

While the jiggling of Emma's breasts hadn't been on her mind at the time, Regina still paused a moment to admire the sight before dropping to her knees. She slid her hands between Emma's legs, palms running up the smooth, pale skin of her thighs and separated them inch by inch.

At the sound of a hitch in Regina's breathing, Emma raised her head from the bed and looked down at her, shivering at the sight of brown eyes as they devoured her.

Unable to resist, Regina leaned forward and stroked her tongue straight through soaked folds. The satisfied moan she released turning Emma on even more as the already abundant wetness increased even further.

Draping legs over her shoulders, Regina curled her arms around toned thighs, briefly resting her hands on Emma's stomach before gliding up, over her ribs to cup firm, pale breasts. As the pads of her thumbs gently brushed over hardened nubs, Regina began to thrust her tongue in and out of Emma.

Emma's hands gripped uselessly at the bed beneath her, trying and failing to ground herself and slow down her impending release. Her hips bucked against Regina's talented mouth, the sounds of her gasps and moans filling the room.

Regina knew Emma was close as her muscles clenched around the tongue buried inside her and while she would have liked to draw it out, she also knew by how wet Emma had been when they started, that Emma had suffered with her arousal since their bath earlier in the evening. Reason enough not to prolong the inevitable, Regina replaced her tongue with three fingers and clamped her lips around Emma's sensitive bud, sucking and thrusting until her name was shouted from a hoarse throat and Emma's juices coated her fingers and chin.

xxx

Unbeknownst to them, Hook lay in his bed down the hall, wide awake and able to hear more than he wanted to; knowing full well that even thinking of joining them would not end in his favour.

When Emma's shout made it's way throughout the castle, Hook let out a frustrated sigh and shouted back. "Oh come on!" Which was soon followed by the laughter of the two women responsible for a restless night and his looking like shit in the morning.

* * *

**A/N: I said to myself last chapter, "I'll go with the best of 5 regarding smut or not" then I had at least 10 of you ask for smut so.. You asked for it, I gave it. I hope I didn't do too badly, writing smut makes me very judgmental of myself so I can never tell if it's good or not. I'm extremely tempted to crawl in a hole right now.**

** FairyTaleArchetypes: Put that bit at the end there for ya, that what you had in mind?**


	20. Defensive Measures

They appeared outside the village of Wysett early the next morning, Emma and Hook both still grumbling about the way Regina had awoken them both. Informing her that she was rude, inconsiderate and mean; which just resulted in her laughing at them, in that evil way she does.

When Regina realised that it could take hours for either of them to come around and stop acting like children, she decided to placate them both to save herself the drama. Turning to them with a half-hearted glare, she held up her hands. With palms facing upwards, twin swirls of smoke appeared in her hands and faded revealing a flask for each of them. Once they'd each taken their peace offerings without so much as a thank you, Regina rolled her eyes and brushed past them while delivering a rather sarcastic apology. "I am sorry that I wanted to spare us all the possibility of a swift death by avoiding those that aren't too fond of the Evil Queen, by transporting us here before such people started their day. Truly, I am a horrible person. Enjoy."

Removing the lid from her flask, Emma's eyes widened as she sniffed the contents. "Oh my.." Taking a sip, her eyes closed as a rather indecent moan fell from her lips. This was the coffee Regina had at home in Storybrooke, the one Emma had to resort to sneaking behind her back to get any.

Hook's reaction was similar as he discovered the contents of his own flask. "This is rum..."

They glanced at each other with the same contrite expression, then toward the form of Regina as she got further away from them. Each of them calling out to her, they ran to catch up and promptly began apologising.

"We're sorry." Emma blurted.

Hooked nodded. "We were being immature."

Emma agreed. "Immature jerks."

"You're very.. kind." It sounded more like a question, but Hook grinned when Regina glared at him.

_Dammit, Hook!_

Covering his hesitation, Emma added. "And considerate."

"Right.. and we love your gifts."

"We love you more, of course." Regina scowled as that word caused a flutter in her chest, but it wasn't enough to hide the warmth that entered her eyes, a warmth that hadn't gone unnoticed. Emma immediately closed the gap between them and slid an arm around Regina's waist, leaning into her as they walked. "I love you."

Regina rolled her eyes and snatched the flask from Emma's hand. "And I love you, you manipulative shit."

Grinning, Emma brushed her cheek with a kiss and gave her a little squeeze with the arm around her waist.

* * *

Hook started acting strangely around mid-afternoon and it made Emma nervous, whenever they made eye contact, he'd suddenly find something more interesting to look at. When Regina spoke to him, his replies were limited to one or two words and his voice seemed to get quieter as the day wore on.

When night fell and blanketed the land, he startled them when he lurched forward and pushed them into the forest. Before either of them could question him, he clamped a hand over both of their mouths while the soft clip of hooves sounded an approach from the direction they had been headed. "Patrols." It was barely a whisper, but they both heard him.

When the riders had passed, he released them slowly and as Regina's nostrils flared in anger, she spun and punched him in the shoulder. "Why didn't you tell us? We could have walked the forest!"

"No, we have to get out of here." As if on queue, the forest suddenly came alive with the sounds of animals scattering, looking for somewhere to hide while the birds propelled themselves from the trees and took off into the night sky.

"Oh no no no... run." At their confused stares, he threw up his hands and shouted. "RUN!" Without waiting to see if they listened, he turned and sprinted deeper into the forest.

When the sounds of groaning reached their ears, Emma and Regina glanced at each other before taking his advice and chasing after him. It wasn't long before they caught up and continued to run along side him.

"Why are we running into the forest?" Regina questioned.

"Because her guards aren't human, love. The forest gives us a better chance of survival, as slim as it may be."

Times like these, Emma was glad for her chosen professions over the past couple of years. Being a bail bondsperson had prepared her for being the Sheriff and while not a lot of crime happened in Storybrooke beyond teenage pranks, there was a physical kind of fitness required when hunting down stray dogs for their owners. Especially, when said dogs liked to run from her.

So it was a curious sort of envy directed at her when she spoke without the slightest hint of strain or breathlessness in her voice. "When do we know it's safe?"

Hook grinned, his eyes flashing with his excitement. "You'll know when it's quiet and you're not being torn to pieces while monsters feast on your flesh."

_Monsters that feast on flesh?_

Immediately, she ceased running. "Zombies? I'm running from fucking zombies? That is ridiculous!"

When she realised they continued on without her, she shouted. "Pussies!" Patting herself smugly on the back when they stopped and looked back at her, both shocked; if their expressions were anything to go by.

As she walked upto them, she spun her wrist and a sword appeared in her hand with a puff of smoke. "Corpses, right? They're walking corpses? Like the taste of human flesh, brains specifically. Slow, kinda dumb."

Hook confirmed her description with a nod, while Regina stared blankly at her.

_Lives in our world for almost three decades and she's never heard of a zombie? Her son reads comic books for shit sakes!_

Rolling her eyes, she focuses on Hook. "I'm going to assume these aren't a result of some viral outbreak and hazard a guess that they're brought back to life by magical means?"

She sensed his desire to keep running, impressed at his ability to resist as he simply nodded again.

"Okay, there is one thing that everyone knows about Zombies.." She pauses to glance at the both of them. "Unless you're from here, apparently. To control a body, it needs a brain. Which actually applies to the living as well..."

Regina interrupts her. "You're rambling."

When she imitated Regina with a mutter, she received a solid smack to the back of her head. "Ow, geez abusive much?" She rolled her eyes when Regina raised her hand to do it again. "All we have to do is destroy the brain, stab it, crush it, pull it out their nose and stomp on it.."

Regina and Hook both made a disgusted face that made her chuckle.

"You sure that will kill them?" Hook eyed her doubtfully.

Grinning, Emma shook her head. "Nope, but at the very least it'll fuck up their motor function and give us the time to run like hell."

* * *

**A/N: ZOMBIES! ... I'm sorry, but it sounded like a fun thing to add.. and it was something Cora could do, so don't hate me. Haven't decided if the magic will alter the Law of Zombie Slaying yet, hence the short chapter.**


	21. Future Plans

**Oh my, is there finally an action scene in my story? Why yes, yes there is.**

* * *

After roughly twenty minutes of explaining the ins and outs of zombie slaying, Emma's knowledge was put to the test when at least eight of those shambling corpses surrounded them.

As she expected, these were no more intelligent than those portrayed in the movies and video games she still, not as secretly as she thought, enjoyed from time to time. There was no strategic planning on their part, they simply moved forward as fast as they could in hopes that their prey would play the part of the obedient evening meal. Which none of them would, a point Regina was all too willing to prove as she gleefully demonstrated how flammable they were by tossing fireballs at them. While it didn't kill them and made it slightly more dangerous to be close to them, it did serve to slow them down further and allow Hook a more precise aim with the throwing knives she'd summoned for him.

_Three down._

She had to admit, they worked rather well together; which was great, since she was in the process of fending off two of her own and wouldn't be able to help them. Grasping one by the neck as it tried to take a chunk from her shoulder, she swung her sword at the second ones head. The blade tore through skin and bone as though it were jello, and she grimaced at the sight of half a brain falling to the ground. "That's disgusting." The slight gagging sound from behind told her she wasn't the only one who thought so.

Hand still clasped around a neck, she spun and slammed the second corpse into a tree; a shouted, "Incoming." had her jerking her head to the side just in time to avoid the knife that whistled past and embedded itself into the creatures skull.

Spinning on her heel, she glared at Hook. "That my friend, is called kill stealing and no one likes a kill stealer." She snickered at his look of confusion before noticing one of the things on the ground was still moving; which she happily corrected by caving in the side of its head with her boot.

"Where'd the other two go?"

Sniffing his disgust, Hook gestured behind her with his chin. Turning, she immediately understood his feeling. Her assumption that there had only been eight of them was clearly wrong as she counted out another five, if the mess was any indication, they'd all been put down by none other than Regina; who was making a comical face of sheer revulsion as she flicked bits of flesh and bone from her clothing.

Making a face of her own, Emma singsonged. "That's also dis-gus-ting." which was answered with a smirk from her beloved and a chuckle from Hook.

"Been a while since I've used elemental spells that weren't fire, but you can't argue how effective inflating their heads to the point of explosion is..." Pausing, Regina grinned at the synchronized look of nausea that crossed their faces and with a wink she added, "Bit messy though."

Hook agreed. "Just a bit."

xxx

Beams of moonlight shone through the canopy of trees, lighting their path for a while before the encroaching darkness forced them to look for shelter. "There's a shack over there." Emma pointed toward a cabin-shaped silhouette among the trees.

"That's a Huntsman's Hut." Regina corrected. At the blank, unimpressed stare from Emma, she elaborated. "It's a step below a cottage, but a little better furnished than a shack."

"I'm sure that's relevant to a Queen, but since I'm just a lowly peasant, I'll be happy if the only thing it has is a be.."

Green eyes widened and she trailed off at the sight of a zombie dashing from between the trees at Hook, his shout of pain piercing the otherwise silent forest as teeth latched on to his arm. Sprinting toward him, Emma reached for the belt around his waist and tore a knife from its sheath before smoothly shoving it down into the things skull.

She opened her mouth to warn Hook about what she was about to do, only to stop as she watched his face turn pale and he collapsed to the ground. "Well, that'll make this easier at least." Firmly gripping the zombie by the chin, she violently snapped its jaw before digging her fingers into the eye sockets and ripped its teeth from Hook's arm.

Regina sank down beside the blonde. "Is he alright?"

"Yeah, the shock from the pain and the loss of blood knocked him out.. He's luckier than he knows." Regina stared at her with an incredulous look, her question plain as day. "They're magical, they're not infected. If it were my worlds kind of zombies, their bite would be contagious and he'd eventually turn into one." She tore the sleeve of Hook's leather jacket, keeping Regina distracted with her wikipedia-like knowledge of the undead while she sealed the wound with magic.

When she was done, she lifted him as though he weighed nothing and walked toward the hut while to Emma's disbelief, Regina resumed their previous conversation. "You know.. since your parents are Queen Snow and Prince Charming, you're actually not a peasant."

Emma hadn't really thought about coming back here, that it was likely what her parents planned to do on her return had slipped her mind somewhere along the way. She didn't want to live here, she didn't want to be a Princess and she wasn't even going to consider the kind of life her son would be subjected to. "Perhaps in this land, but since I have no plans to return here once we're home.."

Due to the darkness that now hid their faces from one another, Emma couldn't see Regina's expression but she did hear the slight tremble in her voice. "You don't?"

"Well.." Each word following dripped with sarcasm. "As much as I love the thought of prancing around in a dress, talking like I have a stick up my arse and witnessing our son grow to the ripe old age of twelve before he's eaten by an ogre.. I think I'll pass."

Reaching the hut, Emma waited for Regina to open the door so she could enter. Almost immediately, she spotted the slightly raised straw pallet on the floor and came to rest on her knees as she lowered Hook down to it.

"What about your parents? Henry? What if I want to return here?"

Frowning, Emma stood from the floor and turned to Regina with a tilt of her head. "You'd be arrested and thrown in the dungeon to await execution the second my parents stepped through the portal, I wouldn't even be able to blame them because they're slaves to their own subjects."

"As for my parents... I survived my whole life without them, I'm sure I can do it again." She shrugged.

"And Henry?"

_Easy, he'll be wherever you are._

Emma hesitated, if only to make it seem like she were actually considering it before responding. "If by some miracle you're able to escape punishment and he wants to come here, then he'll have you."

She got the feeling that she'd completely missed the point of the question when Regina rolled her eyes and gave an impatient sigh. "I cast a curse to escape from here, I don't want to return.." Emma watched, concerned as worry entered brown eyes. "But what if he does?"

_Oh.._

With a grin, Emma stepped into Regina's space and snaked her arms around her waist. "Then when he turns eighteen and has the right to make his own decisions, I'll open the portal for him."

Regina smiled and shook her head. "He's not going to like that."

She pecked Regina on the lips before replying. "Well that's just too bad. I'd prefer him hate me than receive a message from my parents telling us our curious son wandered off somewhere he wasn't supposed to and got himself killed."

* * *

**A/N: This was more a "part 2" of Chapter 20 than an actual chapter, but it's what the muse deemed appropriate.. and since it's definitely hands down my favourite to have written, I'm not going to bother arguing with it.**


	22. Unexpected Visitor

"Well now, what do we have here." It wasn't the sort of thing Emma had expected upon waking; a strange voice accompanying a familiar, yet somehow unfamiliar presence. There was a sense of wrongness shrouding the room, almost suffocating with its dark intent.

It wasn't the voice that gave away the strangers identity, but the smell. Recalling the discussion with Hook wherein he mentioned the scent of burning wood, Emma knew almost immediately that Cora had found them. She could feel the presence hovering over her, could almost hear the woman's thoughts; Searching, analyzing.. judging. It was that, the fact someone may have considered themselves relevant enough to judge, that made Emma do what she did.

Her eyes shot open at the same time her hand reached out and clasped the woman's throat. Slowly as to not wake Regina, Emma rose from the bed and forced the intruder back as she stood. Every bone, every muscle in her body was alive and thrumming with magic just aching to be released as the skin beneath her hand vibrated with an energy of its own, she could almost taste the darkness that oozed from the very pores of the vile creature in her grasp. Images flooded Emma's mind as she remembered every gruesome dream she had to suffer that wasn't her own, every second of mistreatment that had been inflicted on the brunette that slept peacefully, unaware of what was happening outside her subconscious. Every thought, every memory that passed through her mind had her hand tightening its grip around the throat.

Another second and she would have snapped it, but it was a second she didn't have as she suddenly found herself flying through the air moments before hitting the wall on the far-side of the room as Cora's voice followed her mockingly. "I suppose I should be thankful that she picked someone with a backbone this time."

Snarling, Emma picked herself up off the ground as the woman stalked toward her. Sparing a glance over to Regina, she noted the shift beneath the blanket. Anyone who had spent as significant amount of time sleeping with the brunette as Emma had, would know that Regina seldom moved as she slept.

Directing her attention back to Cora, Emma kept up the angered expression as worry gnawed at her from the inside. _"Regina, please don't do anything stupid."_

She could almost hear the scoff in her mind when Regina responded. _"You mean something like grabbing the Queen of Hearts by the throat?"_

_"Hey, if she didn't want to be attacked, maybe she shouldn't be creeping around people while they're sleeping and being all judgey."_ A scream unlike any other was torn from her throat as a powerful force of magic - containing a pain far beyond anything she had ever felt before - hit her while she was distracted. Her knees slammed to the floor, her body weakening at an alarming rate as the magic sliced into her skin and opened wounds that flowed freely with her blood.

"Emma!" She watched in awed horror as Regina leapt from the bed and flung herself at Cora, throwing her off-balance as Regina's shoulder connected painfully with the older woman's hip. Emma winced as the momentum carried them both into the wall, the image burned into her mind before she passed out.

* * *

"Cora love, release your daughter." Hook could barely stand, still weakened from his attack the night before. Were it not for Emma sharing her knowledge earlier, Regina would think he was turning into one of those creatures. His skin was a ghostly sheet of white, eyes sunken and unfocused as he swayed on his feet, heart held in the palm of his hand.

The magic that bound Regina in place loosened slowly, eventually falling away completely as Cora focused her attention on the pirate.

"Now where did you get that?" While anyone else would hear calm curiosity, Regina knew the subtle signs of anger. She may not have seen her mother in over thirty years, but one didn't spend a quarter of their life under the tyrannical parentage of the woman and learn nothing. The small twitch at the corner of the eye, the rigid spine and slight tilt of the head.

Thrusting out her hands, Regina's magic flowed around Cora, wrapping her in a cocoon-like bubble. She knew the woman would be able to break free if she truly wanted to, but it would take her a few minutes and that's all Regina needed. Moving to stand beside Hook, she put forth her hand in unspoken request. Any doubt she held onto regarding his loyalty was let go when the request was granted, the slight pulse of the heart now beating against the palm of her hand.

She knew Hook must have felt weak, an odd sense of concern washing over her as he dropped back down on to his pallet.

_He's fine, I need to help Emma._

Cutting off the connection to her magic, the bubble around Cora wavered and disappeared.

Regina's eyes narrowed at the smirk that curled her mother's lips, she knew what it meant. She knew the feeling well, that pride you felt when you knew you could manipulate someone, con them into doing whatever you pleased.

What her mother knew, however, was nothing more than a naïve child. A daughter who yearned for love, a girl who would do anything she was asked out of fear. But Regina wasn't that person anymore, she knew better. Cora wasn't capable of love, she had the evidence firmly in hand. Her eyes darted to the prone form of the blonde, her own heart clenching at the thought of losing what she had spent searching for- for so long. The only fear she held any more, revolved around Emma and their son.

"Mother, go and wait outside.." When Cora opened her mouth to speak, Regina cut her off. "Now."

She glanced at Hook once the door closed behind her mother, then at the heart. "Could you?"

Unwinding his fist, he raised his hand and allowed her to place the heart within. He smiled faintly, seeing the concern for him on her face. "I'm fine, Emma needs you."

Her nod gone unseen, she strode forward until she reached Emma and immediately dropped to the floor beside her. Reaching for her neck, relief flooded Regina's system when her fingertips met the slow flutter of a pulse. As her eyes scanned over the damage caused, she noted the bleeding had lessened significantly and her worry abated a little in realisation of how exaggerated the scene had looked from afar.

Fingers trailed each cut upon pale skin, her magic kept at bay by her hesitance. "I hope you weren't lying to me, Emma."

"She wasn't." She started at the voice from behind her, but the way it reassured her was enough to release what little healing power she possessed upon the woman she loved. The worry that had been insistently plaguing her thoughts seemed to morph into something more, twisting in her gut. It took her a moment to name the feeling, she could count the amount times she had felt guilt on one hand and still have fingers to spare. This was her fault, but even that didn't compare to the doubt she had of her abilities. What if she couldn't heal her? She was full of dark magic, a force of destruction that came from anger and hate, didn't that mean what she intended to do was impossible? Was she about to hurt Emma?

_True love, the most powerful magic of all._

Her eyes widened as the signature purple of her magic flowed over and around the form beneath her hand, swirls of white radiated from Emma and their magic greeted each other in what Regina could only describe as a dance as purple and white entwined.

Gaze trained on skin that stitched flawlessly back together as their magic dove into the wounds, she missed the flutter of lids and barely resisted jumping in surprise at the hoarse sound of Emma's voice.

"Hey you."

* * *

**A/N: Okay, I stopped it here because I'm giving you guys another choice. Do you want me to continue with my original plan of confronting Cora at her "Settlement" or.. since this chapter came out of nowhere, shall I abandon that idea and have the FTL journey end here by Regina confronting Cora now? There is more to the story either way, but I don't know if you'd all enjoy drawing out what has been pretty much purely Swan Queen for a few more chapters. Of course, there will be plenty of SQ in Storybrooke, but there will also be others. So, your choice. Let me have it.**


	23. Long Overdue

**I may have been a little pre-emptive with that Conviction update *sigh* Oh well.**

"Hey you? That's all you have to say after what you just put me through?" Regina was furious, not that Emma could blame her. "You almost died because of your stupid hero complex."

Emma blinked at her, tilting her head with a frown. She was well aware of the fact that she could point out her so-called complex was a result of being labelled the Saviour because a certain someone had cursed an entire realm, but she knew that it would only upset Regina further and there was a pesky and perfectly valid reason for being angry with her.

"Okay." Emma ignored the flash of concern when sitting up caused her to grimace, a magical attack such as the one she just went through was bound to leave behind some pain. "You have every right to be angry at me and although I am sorry and more than willing to talk about this, I don't think now is the right time."

There were a few minutes of silence before Regina spoke, minutes where Regina simply stared at her. It would have been obvious to anyone that she wanted to start yelling, so it was a relief to hear the words that finally came. "Fine, but promise me you won't do it again."

The corners of Emma's mouth twitched. "I think we both know I can't do that."

Regina growled and threw up her hands. "For fuck sakes, Emma. Would it kill you to lie and promise me anyway?"

As much as she wanted to laugh at the swear, Emma knew Regina wouldn't appreciate it considering the seriousness of the situation. Besides, she didn't know if it was because of her magic, their bond or her own feelings for her but even the thought of making a promise to Regina that could be so easily broken made her angry. "Yes."

When Regina frowned in confusion - likely trying to figure out how - Emma chuckled and tried to explain what she meant. "I may do stupid things constantly." She raised her hand, her expression warning against voicing the smartass remark that was as plain as day on the brunette's face. "..and you might wonder some times if it would be easier to murder me than spend the rest of your life with me, but the one thing you will never, ever question is whether a promise I make is one you can trust."

Leaning in, Emma captured Regina's lips with her own. There wasn't a single thing she wasn't willing to do for Regina and if that meant constantly putting her life on the line and possibly dying in the process, so be it. While she wasn't going to say that out loud, she did try to put as much feeling into the kiss as she could before she pulled away.

"My family has been the reason for enough of your pain, that I would rip out my own heart before causing you any more. I love you, and I will do everything within my power to protect you."

Regina sighed tiredly and looked away, a small smile playing at her lips. "You're just like your idiot father." Not exactly the response she would have liked, but Emma decided it was preferable to being yelled at and shrugged.

"Well it's a good thing my father is so pretty." She would never grow tired of hearing the melodious laughter her words caused.

_Even better._

* * *

Regina left Emma inside to change from her blood splattered clothing and stepped out into the chill night air. She noted the silhouette of her mother standing still before the forest perimeter, looking out into the darkness beyond. Regina could hear those things rustling about and took a moment to examine her surroundings, the last thing she needed was a zombie attack interrupting their long overdue talk.

She detected both confidence and amusement in the voice that broke through the silence. "They won't enter while I'm here."

Sighing, Regina sat on the rundown porch. After spending so much time 'roughing it' as Emma had called it, she found that she longer cared about keeping up appearances. "What are you doing here, mother?"

When Cora turned, the saccharine smile she directed toward her daughter started a churning in Regina's stomach. "I came to see you, unfortunately things didn't go quite as planned when that brute attacked me."

Picking at invisible dirt beneath her fingernails, Regina's tone was indifferent in its response. "That brute is the woman I love, so unless you want to spend the rest of your miserable life in Rumpelstiltskin's former cell, I'd suggest you leave her out of this."

When she looked up, Cora had moved closer with the still fake smile plastered across her face that did nothing more than fuel Regina's anger. "How many times must I tell you..."

Rolling her eyes, she repeated the all too familiar phrase mockingly. "Love is weakness, save it." She didn't know how it was her mother wasn't affecting her the way she used to but she appreciated that for once in her life, she could be whoever she wanted to be. "I spent years being abused by you, accepting the life you forced on me, hating myself when you were the only one who truly deserved it. I'm experienced with the truth of that, more than anyone. "

"I did what I thought was best for you." Of all the things her mother had ever said to her, this was the one that had always baffled, frustrated her really.

"You should never have been the one to decide what was best for me." Regina stood and stalked forward with a sneer. "I am a person, I have free-will and you are a heartless monster, incapable of feeling or thinking about anyone other than yourself. You did what you thought would help you obtain the most power, well look how that turned out mother."

Cora spread her arms. palms facing the sky in a way that said I'm looking. "You're here, you're powerful and you're mine. I'd say it all turned out just fine."

The sound of the door to the hut slamming shut interrupted Regina's words before she could utter them. The anger that radiated from Emma caused her to take an instinctive step away from Cora. Cowardice, self-preservation, common sense; whatever the reason, she had said what she needed to say, anything beyond this point was out of her hands.

* * *

_".. you're mine. I'd say it all turned out just fine."_ Emma glared at the heart in her hand. She had been willing to leave the two alone, confident Cora wouldn't try anything when she knew they had it. Before she could even process her actions, she was yanking the door open.

The moment she was close enough, Emma thrust out a hand and slapped Cora with enough force that it brought her to her knees. "She is not a fucking possession."

Cora's lip had split open and blood trickled down her chin, yet her eyes remained as empty as the dead and her mocking laugh sent a chill down Emma's spine. "_I_ gave birth to her, she is _my_ daughter and she will _never_ be yours."

"The only truth in that sentence is that you gave birth to her. For her to be your daughter, you would have had to have been a mother. A mother does not torture her child, a mother does not force her to marry a man old enough to be her father, a mother does not allow that man to rape her daughter whenever he fancies. Most of all, a mother loves her child and _that_ is a rather crucial piece of parenting we all know you're not capable of." Punctuating every word she slung by tightening her fist around the heart.

It was only when Cora gasped, that she loosened it- as deserved and as gratifying as it would be, Emma Swan wasn't a murderer.

Bending down, their faces were no more than an inch part when Emma continued. "I have saved her, protected her and cared for her, longer than even she is aware of. I have accepted her for who she was, is and will forever be. She is not your daughter, not your possession. She isn't the Evil Queen or the hard ass Mayor Mills, she isn't a puppet for you, Rumpel or my mother." Grabbing Cora by her throat, she yanked her to her feet and shoved the hand into her chest.

"She is Regina, the woman I love and the mother of my son." Releasing the heart, she pulled out her hand and let Cora drop to the ground.

Walking over to Regina, Emma pecked her softly on the cheek. Whether it was for comfort, luck or merely for the hell of it, she wasn't sure. Whatever the reason, she slipped away to give them privacy once more, hoping returning the heart had been the right thing to do. Because if it came down to killing the woman, Emma didn't think she'd be able to and she knew, no matter what Regina said, neither would she.

* * *

**Haven't decided how I feel about Emma putting it back, but my rum-soaked muse insisted and who am I to argue?**


	24. Within a Heart

**I'm sitting here all "I'm meant to be writing the next chapter for TSotH." and my muse is all, "Ha! It's cute that you think it's your decision." and made me write this instead.**

**Sooo.. Enjoy!**

* * *

As Regina stared down at her mother - even though the moment had long since passed - the skin where Emma had kissed her continued to tingle pleasantly beneath the tips of her fingers. Her emotions were all over the place, but the only one that showed on her face was the astonishment. Part of her - a very small part - had thought that the anger Emma had projected would be channelled negatively and she would then be left alone to look down upon a corpse as she were finally able to mourn the loss of a mother she never knew.

It was a selfish sort of hope, to think Emma would ever allow her anger to control her so completely. There was no telling what change Emma would have had to endure were she to murder Cora and as strange as it may seem, Regina was glad for the brief disappointment she felt knowing her mother was still alive.

The stronger emotion, the one that prevailed over all others had her kneeling in the dirt beside her mother, looking into the wide eyes as Cora gasped in lungfuls of air. Regina knew the consequences of returning a heart, even if she couldn't quite fathom the depth of pain - physical, emotional and mental - of having a heart long since removed replaced as unexpectedly and as violently as Cora's had been. She had no doubt the pain was substantial, even without the harsh inhales and exhales; the anguish that morphed her expression was rather telling, and the haunted look within the brown orbs so like Regina's own spoke volumes.

As the pain eventually began to subside, Regina watched with trepidation as a somewhat alien warmth entered her mother's gaze. When Cora raised a shaky hand, hesitant and all too aware of how unwelcome her touch might be, Regina surprised even herself when she removed her own and reached out for it.

It was a strange feeling, realising you needed something you didn't particularly want. But if this wasn't real, if she was still somehow asleep in the arms of her Saviour, then at least in her dreams her mother was capable of feeling... something, anything beyond her unnatural thirst for power. It had been so long, too long since Regina's dreams had contained more than memories and the horrors of her past. So if this was some sort of merciful reprieve from those nights of indescribable terror and aching longing, then she would welcome every touch, every smile, any and every small display of humanity and affection from a mother she had always wished for.

"Oh my sweet girl, I am so sorry." It was barely more than a whisper, but the words resounded in Regina's head and broke through the barricade that - until now - had held back tears she didn't know were there.

Even as her mind raced in confusion over this unexpected reaction from her treacherous body, Regina allowed herself to weep as she slumped across the prone form beneath her, the sobs that escaped her becoming uncontrollable when she found herself engulfed in the warmth of her mothers embrace.

There was a moment, so fleeting she wondered whether she had imagined it, where she could swear she felt a piece of herself reconnect with the whole. It was familiar in a way, similar to how she felt when she stopped running from Emma, when she gave in to the temptation to fall in love once more. It had begun to shape her - or rather - reshape her, into the person she once was. She experienced things she thought were lost to her, not only happiness but regret, guilt; all the things she had cast away the day she opened her arms and accepted her fate as the Evil Queen.

But as much as Regina wanted to let go, to live her life free of the demons and simply love, forgive and forget; she knew she couldn't because it wasn't just her life anymore. What if she was the same person, what if she hurt the people Regina loved now? What guarantee did she have that this wasn't all just another ruse? Cora was skilled in manipulating her after all and she couldn't, wouldn't risk what she has now for anything.

Regina's jaw clenched tightly when her mind conjured the image of Emma laying in a pool of blood, serving as a reminder that she had already risked too much. It didn't matter that it was Emma's recklessness that nearly cost her her life, no one that threatened her happiness deserved to be so easily forgiven, least of all the woman who had made her childhood such living hell.

Pulling back from the embrace, Regina glanced behind her to where she knew Emma would be pacing behind the closed-door, anticipation and curiosity so strong she wouldn't be able to keep still. "I love her." Her eyes continued to water as she turned them back to her mother. Despite knowing Emma was safe thanks to their combined magic, it was the thought of losing her that kept the tears fresh.

"It wasn't too long ago that I longed to hear those words from you, that I would have forgiven you for everything you did to me." Through her blurred vision, she could see her mother's lips part in an attempt to respond but she shook her head. "I need to say this and it would be selfish of me to simply walk away from you without giving you a reason."

Regina breathed in a deep, shuddered breath and closed her eyes. It was nice, freeing to see that for once she simply listened and didn't argue or demean her in some form for daring to think she could silence the great Cora Mills. At the same time though, it hurt to see the hope that started to fade with her words. "She means so much to me that the thought of losing her.. it would destroy me completely. There would be no coming back from that, it wouldn't change me like it did when you killed Daniel."

"When I cast the curse, I thought that was it. That I would always be the Evil Queen and no one would ever love me, but she proved me wrong. I see what she feels for me every moment of every day that we have spent here and even before then, I knew she was something... something more."

A faint smile curves her lips as she remembers all the times she had felt, because of Emma. Thirty years stuck in an endless loop where days repeated themselves and the people never changed, it had mellowed her, dampened the strength of her anger and hate for everyone and everything. Until the day that yellow bug had come into town and crashed through the boring monotony of her life, the fearless blonde who stood firm in the face of her rage, who only took things seriously when they were meant to be taken that way. Often, Regina found herself more confused by their interactions than anything. It was especially confusing that whenever she had been mad, Emma would push each one of her buttons to keep her that way. It drove Regina insane just thinking about it but then, one day she recalled finding Emma sitting on her doorstep and it all suddenly made sense.

Henry had been sulking for about a week and he wouldn't tell her why, but that day when Emma showed up, she had told her that their son was being bullied at school. Regina had always thought it a natural part of growing up, a fact Emma didn't take too well when she informed her of such. They argued, Regina got angrier by the minute and then.. she exploded. She raved and ranted, going on and on about children thinking they had the right, that they had the nerve to make her son unhappy with their juvenile pranks and entirely unimaginative insults.

Needless to say, she learned from that day- the blonde knew how to get the truth out of her, how to tear down her walls and force her to be herself, to speak her mind and _feel_ something.

Sighing, she shook herself from her thoughts and looked to her mother once more as she stood from the ground. "She nearly died today because of you, I don't think I can forgive you for that."

* * *

When Regina entered the hut, Emma frowned. Although she assumed it would take mother and daughter a lot of time to get past everything that had happened, it never occurred to her that they wouldn't work something out in the meantime, as tentative and distrusting as that something may have been. Yet, Cora hadn't followed and considering she was the whole purpose to them being here, it seemed somewhat counterproductive.

"Where.." She barely got the word out before she had a lap full of Queen, who apparently decided kissing was preferable to talking. While Emma wasn't usually one to complain, she wasn't about to ignore the tear tracks she'd spied a second before the mouth latched onto her own.

Cupping her face with both hands, Emma's thumbs brushed across Regina's cheeks before she broke away from lips that were all too tempting when pouted the way that they now were. "As much as I love.. and I mean_ love_ your tongue in my mouth, I'm sensing something wrong and it's kinda mood-killy.. also, comatose pirate in the vicinity, definite turn-off."

"Mood-killy isn't a word." The caress of Regina's fingers against her throat sent shivers down her spine. It would have been obvious to even the most oblivious of people, Regina was suppressing.

"Me caveman me no likey proper wordses." Knowing how terrible her resolve was, she swatted away the hand when it reached her chest. "Stop deflecting, where's Cora?"

"Gone."

Running a hand through blonde locks, Emma tried not to let the frustration enter her voice. "Um I don't claim to know everything, in fact I'm pretty sure I know fuck all when it comes to most things, but weren't we supposed to bring her back to Storybrooke?"

"She's on her way to my palace." Regina looked into her eyes and smiled sadly. "I.. didn't want to spend the next week in her company."

"Right and uh, why is it going to take a week to get to your palace again?" As if it were a secret, she leaned in and whispered. "We have magic."

It was in all honesty, a lame attempt to change the subject and had it not been for the heart breaking sadness plainly reflected in brown eyes, she might have questioned the dismissal of Cora. However, from the moment Regina had walked in, there was an annoying little tick in the back of Emma's mind that she had started to associate with the "Saviour" within. Were anyone to ask, she wouldn't have any clue whatsoever about how to explain this new found ability she had that allowed her to sense feeling, but she could probably tell them the exact ratio of anger to depression Regina was experiencing at this present point in time. That is why, rather than sate her own curiosity, she would act like a dork in hopes of cheering her up.

"I thought since you weren't planning on returning here, you might want to visit the place you were born." The sudden shift that emanated from Regina threw Emma off balance.

"What was that?"

Regina's eyebrow rose. "What was what?"

"Just a second ago you were all.." She frowned, thinking through the words before shrugging and saying them anyway. "Evil Queen slash little lost girl and now.."

"I'm thinking of taking you in every single room of the White Palace. Horny, is the word you're looking for." There was a pause before she smirked. "And now you feel different."

"Wait a second, I thought it was a Saviour thing, you get it too?"

"Mhmm." Hands tugged at Emma's shirt, pulling it free from her pants before they slipped beneath it to caress muscles that rippled against the touch.

"Hold up, your royal exhibitionist. Have you forgotten the guy that was brutally attacked by zombies just last night, laying on the..." Regina cut her off with a wave of her hand and purple smoke swirled around Hook before drifting away on an imaginary breeze.

"What did you just do?"

"He'll be in a very.." Regina's teeth grazed her pulse point, followed closely by a tongue before she pulled back to finish her sentence. "..deep sleep for a few hours."

* * *

**Blame FairyTaleArchtypes for the ending. Smut wasn't intended for this chapter, but she wouldn't listen.**


End file.
